The United National Party is a centre-right political party in Sri Lanka. The UNP has served as the country's ruling party, or as part of its governing coalition, for 38 of the country's 74 years of independence, including the periods 1947–1956, 1965–1970, 1977–1994, 2001–2004 and 2015–2019. The party also controlled the executive presidency from its formation in 1978 until 1994 and again from 2022 to 2024.
Junius Richard Jayewardene, commonly abbreviated in Sri Lanka as J.R., was a Sri Lankan lawyer, public official and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 1977 to 1978 and as the second President of Sri Lanka from 1978 to 1989. He was a leader of the nationalist movement in Ceylon who served in a variety of cabinet positions in the decades following independence. A longtime member of the United National Party, he led it to a landslide victory in the 1977 parliamentary elections and served as prime minister for half a year before becoming the country's first executive president under an amended constitution.
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".
Dudley Shelton Senanayake, was a Sri Lankan statesman who served as Prime Minister of Ceylon from 1952 to 1953, in 1960, and from 1965 to 1970 and Leader of the Opposition from 1960 to 1964. Senanayake's tenures as prime minister were associated with democratic policies focused on agricultural and educational reforms with a pro-western alignment.
Sir Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke was a Sri Lankan statesman. Having served as an important figure in the gradual independence of Ceylon from Britain, he became the third Governor-General of Ceylon (1954–1962). He was the first Ceylonese individual to hold the vice-regal post.
The Ministry of External Affairs and Defence was a cabinet ministry of the Government of Ceylon that conducted and managed all of Ceylon's relations with other countries and its military matters from 1947 to 1977.
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.
Ruwan Wijewardene is a Sri Lankan politician and currently the Senior advisor to president Ranil Wickremesinghe on Climate change. He was the former State Minister of Defence and former Mass Media non-cabinet Minister. He was a former Member of Parliament for Gampaha District. Also he is the Deputy Leader of the United National Party and chief organiser for Kelaniya Electorate.
Murugeysen Tiruchelvam, QC was a Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and politician. Tiruchelvam was a leading lawyer having served as the Solicitor General of Ceylon; he served as the Cabinet Minister of Local Government as a member of Senate of Ceylon.
Sir Kanthiah Vaithianathan CBE (1896–1965) was a Ceylonese civil servant, politician, Member of the Senate and Minister of Housing and Social Services.
The Third Dudley Senanayake cabinet was the central government of Ceylon led by Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake between 1965 and 1970. It was formed in March 1965 after the parliamentary election and it ended in May 1970 after the opposition's victory in the parliamentary election.
Major Deshamanya Walter Geoffrey Montague "Monti" Jayawickrama was a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the Minister of Transport and Public Works (1952-1956) and the Minister of Public Administration, Home Affairs and Plantation Industries (1977-1987), having been elected from Weligama in Matara to the Sri Lankan Parliament. He was the Second Governor of the North Western Province of Sri Lanka.
Charles Percival de Silva was a Sri Lankan politician and civil servant. He had served as the Minister of Finance, Minister of Lands, Land Development and Agriculture; and Minister of Power and Irrigation, and Chairperson of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, and later joined as a senior member of the United National Party.
Colonel Candauda Arachchige Dharmapala, OBE, ED was Sri Lankan politician. He was a Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industries, Housing and Social Services and Member of Parliament for Hakmana. He also served as the permanent secretary to the Ministry of Defence, and as Security Adviser to President J. R. Jayewardene.
Major Theodore Frederick "Freddy" Jayewardene was a Ceylonese planter and politician. He was the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Labour and Member of Parliament for Colombo South from 1948 to 1956.
Mahanama Samaraweera was a Sri Lankan politician. He was a Cabinet minister and a member of parliament.
Mudiyanselage Chandrasena Ratnayake Beligammana was a Ceylonese politician
Al-Haj Meeralebbe Poddy Mohamed Mustapha was a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician.
Leslie Simon Bernard Perera, CCS was a Sri Lankan civil servant. A career officer of the Ceylon Civil Service, he was the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Social Services as Director Civil Aviation, he played a major role in the formation of Air Ceylon. Later he served as High Commissioners of Sri Lanka to Canada.
