From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sri Lankan politician
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]
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
References
^
"The reason for the decline of art is the neo-liberal economy" . Sarasaviya . 13 August 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020 .
^
"Directory of Past Members: DEW Gunasekera" .
Parliament of Sri Lanka .
^
a
b
c
d
e
f Amaranayake, Vindya (9 November 2008).
"Golden gentleman socialist" .
The Nation (Sri Lanka) .
^ Wijayawardhana, Upul (18 September 2015).
"Sri Lanka: Light at the end of the tunnel" .
The Island (Sri Lanka) .
^ Gunasekera, D. E. W. (6 November 2005).
"He liberated the Ruhuna people" .
The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka) .
^
Jansz, Frederica (30 May 2004).
"D.E.W. was sacked from Law College" .
The Sunday Leader . Archived from
the original on 15 January 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2016 .
^ Maher, Joanne, ed. (2004).
The Europa World Year Book 2004: Volume II - Kazakhstan - Zimbabwe .
Europa Publications . p. 3933.
ISBN
1-85743-255-X .
^
"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 .
^
a
b 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.
^
"SLFP-JVP alliance signed in Colombo" .
TamilNet . 20 January 2004.
^
"LSSP, CP agree to join SLFP-JVP alliance" .
TamilNet . 15 February 2004.
^
"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 .
^
"UPFA list" .
The Island (Sri Lanka) . 9 April 2004.
^
"Opposition candidate Lokubandara elected Speaker" .
TamilNet . 22 April 2004.
^
"Chaos in the House" .
The Island (Sri Lanka) . 23 April 2004.
^ Nakkawita, Wijitha (23 April 2004).
"W.J.M.elected Speaker after marathon poll" .
The Island (Sri Lanka) .
^
"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. [
permanent dead link ]
^
"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.
^
"The New Cabinet" .
The Island (Sri Lanka) . 29 January 2007.
^
"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.
^
"UPFA names National list" .
The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka) . 21 April 2010.
^
"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.
^
"New Cabinet Ministers & Deputy Ministers" .
Daily News (Sri Lanka) . 24 April 2010.
^
"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.
^
"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 .
^
"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.
^
"UPFA, UNP national lists announced" .
The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka) . 13 July 2015.
^
"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.
^
"UPFA finalises National list" .
The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka) . 21 August 2015.
Western
Central
Southern
Northern
Eastern
North Western
North Central
Uva
Sabaragamuwa
National List