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The Ceylon Labour Party (CLP) was a political party in Sri Lanka.
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| This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Sri Lanka |
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Related issues |
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The Ceylon Labour Party (CLP) was a political party in Sri Lanka.
The Ceylon Labour Party was formed in October 1928, with A. E. Gunasinha as president and Proctor Marshall Perera as secretary. Its executive committee included C. H. Z. Fernando, A. Mahadeva, C. W. W. Kannangara, Victor Corea, George E. de Silva and Satiyawageswera Iyer and women members were included for the first time in Ceylon. [1] Its foundation followed contact between Gunasinha and the British Labour Party; when Ramsay MacDonald, the British Labour Party leader and Prime Minister visited Ceylon in 1926, Gunasinha had received him on behalf of the Ceylonese labour movement. Having already set up the Ceylon Labour Union, Gunasinha modelled the new party on the British Labour Party after a visit to the UK in 1927 when he was encouraged to set up a new party by Labour Party members. [2] Gunasinha had also appeared on behalf of the labour movement at the Donoughmore Commission for universal suffrage and represented Ceylon at the British Empire Labour Conference held in London in 1928. [3]
In the 1931 State Council elections Gunasinha was elected on the Labour Party ticket as Member for Colombo Central. He was re-elected in the 1936 elections. In 1940, he was elected to Colombo Municipal Council and in 1943 became the first Ceylonese Mayor of Colombo. [4]
In the 1947 parliamentary elections, the CLP won a single seat, with Gunasinha elected as the first Member for Colombo Central. He was subsequently appointed as Chief Government Whip in the United National Party coalition government, Minister without Portfolio and Minister of State of the First Parliament of Ceylon by Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake. [5]
Gunasinha was re-elected in the 1952 parliamentary elections as the party's sole MP. After failing to win any seats in the 1956 elections, the party did not contest any further elections. [2]
Don Stephen Senanayake was a Ceylonese statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of Ceylon having emerged as the leader of the Sri Lankan independence movement that led to the establishment of self-rule in Ceylon. He is considered as the "Father of the Nation".
Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike, frequently referred to as S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, was the fourth Prime Minister of Ceylon and founder of the Left wing and Sinhalese nationalist Sri Lanka Freedom Party. SWRD Bandaranaike became the prime minister of Ceylon in 1956 and carried out left wing reforms such as nationalizing bus services and introducing legislation to prohibit caste based discrimination. Bandaranaike is also remembered for removing British naval and air bases in Sri Lanka and establishing diplomatic missions with a number of communist states.
Edmund Peter Samarakkody was a Ceylonese lawyer, trade unionist, politician and Member of Parliament.
Major Edward Alexander Nugawela was a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician. He was the first Cabinet Minister of Education in independent Sri Lanka (1947–1954), later Cabinet Minister of Health (1954–1956), a Member of Parliament and State Council.
Deshamanya James Peter Obeyesekere III was a Sri Lankan politician and aviator. A Senator, he was also a Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and Finance.
Richard Gotabhaya Senanayake was a Sri Lankan politician. He was Minister of Trade and Commerce during the period 1952-56 and 1956-60. He was elected a Member of Parliament from Dambadeniya in 1952 and in 1956 from Kelaniya, thus holding concurrent seats from two constituencies, while he retained his seat from Dambadeniya in 1960 and 1965. He was the eldest son of the freedom fighter Fredrick Richard Senanayake and was educated at the Royal College, Colombo and at Downing College, Cambridge and had become a Barrister.
Alexander Ekanayake Gunasinha was a pioneering trade union leader known as the "Father of the Labour Movement" in Sri Lanka. He was the founder of the Ceylon Labour Party, Sri Lanka's first labour organisation and former Mayor of Colombo. A. E. Gunasinha also served as the Minister without portfolio, Minister of State and Chief Government Whip in the First Parliament of Sri Lanka. He was an alumnus of Dharmaraja College, Kandy, St. Joseph's College, Colombo and Wesley College, Colombo.
Alexander Perera Jayasuriya was a Ceylonese politician. He was a Minister of Health, Senator and Member of Parliament. He was one of the founders of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party.
Major Theodore Frederick "Freddy" Jayewardene was a Ceylonese a planter and a politician. He was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Labour and Member of Parliament for Colombo South from 1948 to 1956.
Robert Gunawardena, born Don Benjamin Rupasinghe Gunawardena was a prominent Sri Lankan politician and diplomat. He was one of the founders of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, which was the first political party in Sri Lanka, and served as the long time MP for Kotte. He was the leader of the Suriya-Mal Movement and served as ambassador to China between 1965 and 1970.
Prins Gunasekera was a Ceylonese politician, who represented the Habaraduwa electorate in the Galle district.
Kusumasiri Gunawardena (1912–1986) was a Ceylonese politician.
Deshamanya Dr. Mohamed Cassim Mohamed Kaleel was a Ceylonese physician, social worker and politician.
Cyril Eugene Attygalle was a Ceylonese politician.
John Gladstone Rajakulendran was a Ceylonese Tamil teacher and politician.
Bernard Soysa was a Sri Lankan politician.
Manuel Savariyappa Themis was a Ceylonese politician and trade unionist.
Al-Haj Meeralebbe Poddy Mohamed Mustapha was a Ceylonese lawyer and politician.
Suriarachchi Kankanamalage Karunadasa Suriarachchi was a Ceylonese politician.
Punchi Banda Aloysius Weerakoon was a Ceylonese educator and politician.
