D. E. W. Gunasekera

Don Edwin Weerasinghe Gunasekera (born 4 March 1935) is a Sri Lankan politician, former Member of Parliament and former cabinet minister. He is the current leader of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka (CPSL), a member of the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA).[1]

Hon.

D. E. W. Gunasekera

MP
ඩී. ඊ. ඩබ්. ගුණසේකර
Minister of Constitutional Reform
In office
May 2004 – April 2010
Preceded byG. L. Peiris
Minister of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms
In office
April 2010 – November 2010
Succeeded byChandrasiri Gajadeera
Senior Minister of Human Resources
In office
November 2010 – 12 January 2015
Member of the Sri Lankan Parliament
for National List
In office
2004–2015
Personal details
Born (1935-03-04) 4 March 1935
Kivula, Ceylon
Political partyCommunist Party of Sri Lanka
Other political
affiliations		United People's Freedom Alliance
Alma materVidyalankara University
OccupationCivil servant

Early life

Gunasekera was born 4 March 1935 in Kivula in southern Ceylon.[2][3] He was educated at Rahula College in Matara.[4][5] After school he joined Vidyalankara University in the 1950s, graduating with a degree in economics.[3]

Gunasekera joined Ceylon Law College in the early 1970s but was expelled for attempting to cheat.[6]

Career

After Vidyalankara Gunasekera worked at the Inland Revenue Department for many years.[3]

Gunasekera joined the Communist Party of Ceylon in 1958.[3] He wrote for the party's newspaper Mawbima and was a youth leader.[3] He later became a member of the party's central committee and eventually the party's general secretary.[3]

In 1988 the CPSL, Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), Nava Sama Samaja Party and Sri Lanka People's Party formed the United Socialist Alliance (USA).[7] Gunasekera was one of the USA's candidates in Matara District at the 1989 parliamentary election but the USA failed to win any seats in the district.[8][9] On 20 January 2004 the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) formed the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA).[10] The CPSL and LSSP joined the UPFA in February 2004.[11][12] Gunasekera was appointed as a UPFA National List MP in the Sri Lankan Parliament following the 2004 parliamentary election.[13] Gunasekera was put forward as the UPFA's candidate for Speaker but was defeated by opposition candidate W. J. M. Lokubandara after three dramatic rounds of voting in Parliament.[14][15][16] Gunasekera was appointed Minister of Constitutional Reform in May 2004.[17] He was given the additional portfolio of National Integration on 28 January 2007.[18][19]

Gunasekera was re-appointed as a UPFA National List MP following the 2010 parliamentary election.[20][21] He was appointed Minister of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms after the election.[22][23] He was promoted to Senior Minister of Human Resources in November 2010.[24][25] He lost his cabinet position following the 2015 presidential election.

At the 2015 parliamentary election Gunasekera was placed on the UPFA's list of National List candidates.[26][27] However, after the election he was not appointed to the National List.[28][29]

Electoral history
Electoral history of D. E. W. Gunasekera
Election Constituency Party Votes Result
1989 parliamentary[9]Matara DistrictUSA2,735Not elected

References
  1. "The reason for the decline of art is the neo-liberal economy". Sarasaviya. 13 August 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  2. "Directory of Past Members: DEW Gunasekera". Parliament of Sri Lanka.
  3. Amaranayake, Vindya (9 November 2008). "Golden gentleman socialist". The Nation (Sri Lanka).
  4. Wijayawardhana, Upul (18 September 2015). "Sri Lanka: Light at the end of the tunnel". The Island (Sri Lanka).
  5. Gunasekera, D. E. W. (6 November 2005). "He liberated the Ruhuna people". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
  6. Jansz, Frederica (30 May 2004). "D.E.W. was sacked from Law College". The Sunday Leader.
  7. Maher, Joanne, ed. (2004). The Europa World Year Book 2004: Volume II - Kazakhstan - Zimbabwe. Europa Publications. p. 3933. ISBN 1-85743-255-X.
  8. "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1989" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-04. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  9. de Silva, W. P. P.; Ferdinando, T. C. L. 9th Parliament of Sri Lanka (PDF). Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited. p. 179. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-06-23.
  10. "SLFP-JVP alliance signed in Colombo". TamilNet. 20 January 2004.
  11. "LSSP, CP agree to join SLFP-JVP alliance". TamilNet. 15 February 2004.
  12. "UPFA expands : CP, LSSP join Alliance". Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka). 15 February 2004. Archived from the original on 13 November 2004. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  13. "UPFA list". The Island (Sri Lanka). 9 April 2004.
  14. "Opposition candidate Lokubandara elected Speaker". TamilNet. 22 April 2004.
  15. "Chaos in the House". The Island (Sri Lanka). 23 April 2004.
  16. Nakkawita, Wijitha (23 April 2004). "W.J.M.elected Speaker after marathon poll". The Island (Sri Lanka).
  17. "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Appointments & c., by the President" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1342/09. 26 May 2004.
  18. "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Appointments & c., by the President" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1482/08. 29 January 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2014.
  19. "The New Cabinet". The Island (Sri Lanka). 29 January 2007.
  20. "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Government Notifications THE PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS ACT, No. 1 OF 1981" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1650/19. 21 April 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 December 2014.
  21. "UPFA names National list". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 21 April 2010.
  22. "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Appointments & c., by the President" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1651/3. 26 April 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 May 2010.
  23. "New Cabinet Ministers & Deputy Ministers". Daily News (Sri Lanka). 24 April 2010.
  24. "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Appointments & c., by the President" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1681/2. 22 November 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2014.
  25. "NEW FACES BOOST CABINET AS HOPES RISE". The Nation (Sri Lanka). 28 November 2010. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  26. "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Government Notifications PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS ACT, No. 1 OF 1981 List of Persons submitted under Article 99A of the Constitution" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1923/02. 13 July 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015.
  27. "UPFA, UNP national lists announced". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 13 July 2015.
  28. "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Government Notifications PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION — 2015 Declaration under Article 99A of the Constitution" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1928/25. 21 August 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015.
  29. "UPFA finalises National list". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 21 August 2015.
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