Tudor Gunasekara

Ranasinghe Hettiarachchige Tudor Edward Ranasinghe Gunasekara[1] (known as Tudor Gunasekara, Sinhala: ටියුඩර් ගුණසේකර, born 23 January 1935) is a Sri Lankan former politician and diplomat. He was former Member of Parliament, District Minister for Gampaha in President JR Jayawardene's government. Later, he served as the first Sri Lanka ambassador to Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary.

Hon.

Tudor Gunasekara
Member of the Sri Lanka Parliament
for Mahara
In office
1977–1983
Preceded byS. K. K. Suriarachchi
Succeeded byKamalawarana Jayakody
Personal details
Born (1935-01-23) 23 January 1935
Colombo, Ceylon
NationalitySri Lankan
Political partyUnited National Party
Spouse(s)Chandra née Perera
ChildrenDayanganie
Hiran
ResidenceHeiyantuduwa, Sri Lanka.
Alma materAnanda College, Colombo
OccupationPolitician, Diplomat

Early life
William & Eugine Gunasekara
(Parents of Tudor Gunasekara)

Tudor Gunasekara was born on 23 January 1935 to a well known family in Heiyantuduwa, Biyagama in Sri Lanka. He had his early education at Ananda College, Colombo. Gunasekara was the second son of William Gunasekara (also known as 'Heiyantuduwa Ralahami') and Eugine née Seneviratne. William Gunasekara was a wealthy landed proprietor and owned fourteen elephants. One of his elephants was Heiyantuduwa Raja, which carried the Relic of the tooth of the Buddha casket in the Dalada Perahera for several years after the demise of Maligawa Raja. Gunasekara has two brothers, Donald and Henry, as well as three elder sisters, Adeline, Chandra and Chithra.

Ambassador Tudor Gunasekara (left) handing over credentials to Aleksander Kwaśniewski, President of Poland (right)

Political career

Gunasekara entered active politics in Sri Lanka during the late 1960s as the United National Party Chief Organiser for the Mahara electorate. In the 1970 General Elections, he contested from the United National Party but was defeated.[2] Gunasekara once again contested in the 1977 General Elections and was elected as Member of Parliament for Mahara.[3] In 1978, he was appointed as District Minister for Gampaha in President JR Jayawardene's government. He was subsequently appointed as United National Party Chief Organiser for the Gampaha and Attanagalla Electorates. Consequently, Gunasekara is known to have held the position of chief organiser for the United National Party in three electorates at the same time.[4] In early 1983 Gunasekara resigned as District Minister for Gampaha and as the member for Mahara.[5]

Diplomatic career

In President Chandrika Kumaratunga's government, Gunasekara was appointed as the first Sri Lanka Ambassador to Poland. Consequently, he also served as the Head of the Sri Lankan Mission to Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. During this time, Gunasekara played an important role in promoting Ceylon tea, tourism and strengthening Sri Lanka's diplomatic relations with Eastern European countries. Gunasekara has been a member of several Sri Lanka Parliamentary Delegations to India, Indonesia, Japan and UK to strengthen and promote the country's regional and international relations. [6][7][8][9]

Family life

Gunasekara married Chandra Perera, daughter of Albert and Karuna Perera, in 1962. Albert Perera was the Chairman and Managing Director of City Cabs, one of the leading taxi companies in Sri Lanka in the early 1950 to 1970s. They have two children, Dayanganie and Hiran.

See also

References
  1. Sri Lanka Parliament Directory of Past Members
  2. 1970 Parliamentary Elections Results. Official Website, Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
  3. 1977 Parliamentary Elections Results. Official Website, Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
  4. Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Asia Times, Retrieved on 23 February 2002.
  5. "Daily Report: South Asia". 83 (22–40). Foreign Broadcast Information Service. 1983: 22. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. Over 600 companies at Tour Salon 2001 in Poland. Daily News, Retrieved on 15 November 2001.
  7. Polish tour group in Sri Lanka. Daily News, Retrieved on 04 February 2002.
  8. Poland to finalise tea orders worth $ 200,000. Daily News, Retrieved on 27 September 2002.
  9. Poland educates tour operators on current situation in Lanka. Daily News, Retrieved on 11 September 2002.
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