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Tissa Devendra | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1929 Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Died | (aged 94) |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Alma mater | Nalanda College, Colombo Dharmaraja College<bt>Ananda College, Colombo University of Ceylon University of Cambridge |
Deshamanya Tissa Devendra [1] (1929 – 22 June 2023) was a Sri Lankan writer and civil servant.
Devendra received his education from Dharmaraja College, Nalanda College, Colombo [2] and Ananda College Colombo. He later graduated from University of Ceylon and University of Cambridge.
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Devendra's career in the public service started in 1953 as a District Land Officer. Later was General Manager of the River Valleys Development Project in Walawe.
Devendra served 40 years in the public service and was the Government Agent in Matara, Trincomalee and Jaffna. He also held positions as Chairman of the Public Service Commission, and Chairman of the Salaries Commission. First President of the Colombo University Alumni Association. Tissa also served as National Expert for the FAO and United Nations.
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Devendra was an author and wrote a number of books, in both Sinhalese and English. His book Tales from the Provinces was short-listed for the Gratiaen Prize in 1998.[ citation needed ] Devendra was also a reviewer of English films along with the late Regi Siriwardena, Donald Abeysinghe, and Mervyn De Silva.
Devendra scripted a television documentary on George Keyt in 1987. His published books include:
Tissa Devendra died on 22 June 2023, at the age of 94. [3]
Established in 1870 as the Colombo Medical School, the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Colombo, is the second oldest medical school in South Asia. It is considered to be the top most medical faculty in the country which requires the highest entry qualification in GCE Advanced Level examination.
Deshamanya is the second-highest national honour of Sri Lanka awarded by the Government of Sri Lanka as a civil honour. It is awarded for "highly meritorious service", and is conventionally used as a title or prefix to the recipient's name.
Deshamanya Priyani Elizabeth Soysa was a Sri Lankan scientist who was Emeritus Professor of Paediatrics of the University of Colombo and the first woman to be appointed to a professorial chair in Sri Lanka.
A Government Agent (GA) or a District Secretary is a Sri Lankan civil servant of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service appointed by the central government to govern a certain district of the country. The GA is the administrative head of public services in the District. As Sri Lanka has 25 districts, there are 25 governments agents at any given time.
General Deshamanya Don Sepala Attygalle, was a Sri Lankan army officer, civil servant and diplomat. The longest serving Commander of the Sri Lankan Army (1967–1977), he went on to serve as the Permanent secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
Deshamanya Nissanka Parakrama Wijeyeratne, known as Nissanka Wijeyeratne, was a Sri Lankan politician, civil servant, diplomat and English language poet. He was also the 17th Diyawadana Nilame of the Sri Dalada Maligawa, Kandy from 1975 to 1985. At the time of death he was serving as the chairman of The Law and Society Trust in Sri Lanka.
Deshamanya Vernon Loraine Benjamin Mendis was a prominent Sri Lankan diplomat, who served as the United Nations' Special Envoy to the Middle East. He is referred to as the Sri Lanka's Father of Diplomacy due to his role in formation of the country's diplomatic service and has served as Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Canada; Ambassador to France, Cuba and Secretary General of the Non Aligned Movement.
Admiral Deshamanya D. Basil Gunasekara was the Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy from 1973 to 1979.
Suratissa Diyasena Wijeyeratne was a Sri Lankan politician, diplomat, barrister and businessman. He was also Additional Secretary to the Ministry of External Affairs and Defence, and Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister.
Deshabandu Tissa Ananda Abeysekara was a Sri Lankan filmmaker, actor, writer, director, screen playwright and political activist. He is better known as a script writer for the cinema as well as a film director. In 1996, his book Bringing Tony Home won the prestigious Gratiaen Prize for the new creative writing in English. He was the chief coordinator of FOSWAL in Sri Lanka and honoured awardee of SAARC Literary Award.
Upali Tissa Vitharana is a Sri Lankan politician, former Member of Parliament and former cabinet minister. He is the current leader of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), a member of the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA), and is serving as Governor of North Central Province.
Deshamanya Chandana Aelian Coorey, SLAS was a Sri Lankan civil servant. He was the former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance & Treasury.
Deshamanya Ranjith Abeysuriya, PC was a Sri Lankan lawyer. He was the chairman of the National Police Commission, director public prosecutions of the Attorney General's Department, president of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka and member of the Law Commission of Sri Lanka.
Deshamanya Balakumara Mahadeva was a leading Sri Lankan Tamil civil servant.
Dr. Pannadasa Gardiye Punchihewa, C.C.S is a Sri Lankan author and an international civil servant.
Deshamanya Noel Wimalasena was a Sri Lankan lawyer, politician and the first Governor of Sabaragamuwa.
Sir Lambert Wilfred Alexander de Soysa also known as Sir Wilfred de Soysa was a Ceylonese entrepreneur, landed proprietor and philanthropist. He was the seventh son of Sir Charles Henry de Soysa and Lady Catherine de Soysa. Born at Alfred House Colombo and educated privately, then at Royal College, Colombo and Prince of Wales' College, Moratuwa, he completed his studies at the Royal Agricultural College, England.
Deshamanya Weligamage Don Lakshman popularly known as Professor W. D. Lakshman is a Sri Lankan economist, professor, lecturer, academic and author who also served as the 15th Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and current chairman of the Monetary Board of the CBSL. He is regarded as one of the prominent economists of the country mainly well known for his immense contributions to policy related activities and for being specialised in the field of Economics.