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".
General Sir John Lionel Kotelawala was a Sri Lankan statesman, who served as the 3rd Prime Minister of Ceylon from 1953 to 1956.
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.
Sir Edwin Aloysius Perera Wijeyeratne, known as Edwin Wijeyeratne, was a Sri Lankan lawyer, politician, diplomat, and one of the founding members of the Ceylon National Congress and the United National Party. He was a Senator and Minister of Home Affairs and Rural Development in the cabinet of D. S. Senanayake. He thereafter he served as Ceylonese High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and Ceylonese High Commissioner to India
Sir James Peiris was a prominent leader in the Sri Lankan independence movement, the first elected Vice-President of the Legislative Council of Ceylon and the first native Governor of Ceylon (Acting).
Sir Susantha de Fonseka KBE was a Ceylonese statesmen and diplomat. He was the Deputy Speaker of the State Council of Ceylon and following Ceylon's independence from Britain his first Ambassador to Burma and first Ambassador to Japan. De Fonseka took an active part in the country's struggle for universal suffrage and self-determination.
Sir Henry Lawson De Mel, was a Ceylonese industrialist, lawyer, philanthropist and politician. He was a member of the Legislative Council and founder of the H.L. De Mel & Co.
George Edmund de Silva was a Ceylonese lawyer and politician. He was the first Cabinet Minister of Industries, Industrial Research and Fisheries in independent Sri Lanka (1947–1948), a Member of Parliament and State Council.
Sir Velupillai Coomaraswamy, CMG was a Ceylonese civil servant and diplomat. He served as the Ceylonese High Commissioner to Canada and Ceylonese Envoy to Burma.
Sir Leo Fernando, was a Ceylonese businessman and politician. He was a member of parliament for the Buttala Electoral District.
Edward Frederick Noel Gratiaen, was a Ceylonese lawyer and judge. He was a former Attorney General of Ceylon and puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Ceylon.
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.
Deshamanya Matharage Rita Genevieve Fernando, better known by her stage name Latha Walpola, is a prominent Sri Lankan vocal artist. Walpola began her singing career when she was a member of a church choir. She became one of Sri Lanka's premier singers of her day. Today her fans often refer to her as "The Nightingale of Sri Lanka"
Don Benjamin Rupasinghe Gunawardena, popularly as Robert Gunawardena, was a Sri Lankan Marxist 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.
Ukku Banda Unamboowe was a Ceylonese politician.
Hugh Edmund Peter de Mel was a Ceylonese politician.
Wijeweera Goonawardene Mahavidanege Albert Silva was a Ceylonese politician.
Andara Vaas Patabedige Vincent, popularly known as Vincent Vaas was an actor in Sri Lankan cinema. Often considered one of the best character actors in Sinhala cinema, he made several critically acclaimed roles in a career spanned for more than five decades. Apart from cinema, he was also a singer and musician.
Sri Lanka cinema family is the largest artistic family tree known in the world spanning over a sixty years in the Sinhala film industry. Many members of the family, both direct biological descendants and those married into the family, have had prolific careers as actors, film directors, producers, singers, scriptwriters, journalists and lyricists which included more than six generations at present.
The 1953 Coronation Honours in Ceylon, celebrating the coronation of Elizabeth II, Queen of Ceylon, were appointments made by the Queen on the advice of the Ceylon government to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by Ceylonese. The honours were announced on 1 June 1953.
