K._W._Devanayagam

K. W. Devanayagam

K. W. Devanayagam

Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer, politician, government minister and Member of Parliament

Deshamanya Kanapathipillai William "Bill" Devanayagam (26 March 1910 – 17 December 2002) was a Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer, politician, government minister and Member of Parliament.

Quick Facts Hon. Deshamanya, Minister of Justice ...

Early life

Devanayagam was born on 26 March 1910.[1] A Roman Catholic, Devanayagam was educated at St. Joseph's College, Colombo.[2][3] A keen sportsman, he captained the school's cricket team in 1930 and was the East Ceylon champion in tennis.[2][3] After school Devanayagam joined Ceylon Law College, qualifying as a proctor.[2]

Career

Devanayagam practised law in Kalkudah, Batticaloa District for many years.[2][3]

Devanayagam stood as an independent candidate for Kalkudah at the 1947 parliamentary election but was defeated by V. Nalliah.[4] He contested the 1965 parliamentary election as a United National Party candidate. He won the election and entered Parliament.[5] He was re-elected at the 1970 and 1977 parliamentary elections.[6][7] He was appointed Minister of Justice in July 1977.[8] He became Minister of Home Affairs in February 1980.[3][9]

Death

Devanayagam died on 17 December 2002.[2][3]

References

  1. [1]
    "Devanayagam, Kanapathipillai William". Parliament of Sri Lanka.
  2. [2]
    "Ex-Justice Minister Devanayagam dies". The Island (Sri Lanka). 18 December 2002.
  3. [3]
    Perera, Supun (23 January 2003). "K. W. Devanayagam - the gentle politician". Daily News (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 13 May 2007.
  4. [4]
    "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1947" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015.
  5. [5]
    "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1965" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 July 2015.
  6. [6]
    "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1970" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 December 2009.
  7. [7]
    "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1977" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2011.
  8. [8]
    Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 25: War or peace?". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Archived from the original on 16 April 2002.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. [9]
    Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 27: Horsewhip Amirthalingham". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Archived from the original on 22 June 2002.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
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