 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (October 2019) |
Sir John Lionel Kotelawala | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Col. Sir John Kotelawala, c. 1951 | |
| 3rd Prime Minister of Ceylon | |
| In office 12 October 1953 – 12 April 1956 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governor-General | The 1st Viscount Soulbury Sir Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke |
| Preceded by | Dudley Senanayake |
| Succeeded by | S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike |
| Minister of Defence and External Affairs | |
| In office 12 October 1953 – 12 April 1956 | |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Dudley Senanayake |
| Succeeded by | S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike |
| 4th Leader of the House | |
| In office 12 July 1951 – 12 October 1953 | |
| Prime Minister | D. S. Senanayake Dudley Senanayake |
| Preceded by | S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike |
| Succeeded by | J. R. Jayewardene |
| Minister of Transport and Works | |
| In office 26 September 1947 – 1954 | |
| Prime Minister | D. S. Senanayake Dudley Senanayake Himself |
| Succeeded by | Montague Jayawickrama |
| Member of the Ceylon Parliament for Dodangaslanda | |
| In office 14 October 1947 – 5 December 1959 | |
| Succeeded by | A.U. Romanis |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 April 1897 British Ceylon |
| Died | 2 October 1980 (aged 83) Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Political party | United National Party |
| Alma mater | Christ's College, Cambridge, Royal College, Colombo |
| Profession | Politician, Soldier, Planter |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Ceylon |
| Branch/service | Ceylon Defence Force Sri Lanka Army |
| Rank |  General (Sri Lanka Army),  Colonel (Ceylon Defence Force) |
| Unit | Ceylon Light Infantry |
| Commands | 1st Battalion, Ceylon Light Infantry |
General Sir John Lionel Kotelawala[1] CH KBE KStJ PC (Sinhala: ශ්රිමත් ජෝන් ලයනල් කොතලාවල; 4 April 1897 – 2 October 1980) was a Sri Lankan statesman, who served as the 3rd Prime Minister of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) from 1953 to 1956.
Born to a wealthy landholding and mining family, Kotelawala had a difficult childhood with the suicide of his father and the financial difficulties that followed. He was educated at Royal College, Colombo, and Christ's College, Cambridge, before returning to become a planter and run the family estates and mines. Kotelawala joined the Ceylon Defense Force as an volunteer officer in 1922. Being from a politically active family, he entered mainstream politics in 1931 having been elected to the State Council of Ceylon. He went on to serve as Minister of Communications and Works in the Second Board of Ministers of Ceylon. Having served as the commanding officer of the Ceylon Light Infantry, he transferred to the reserve with the rank of colonel in 1942.
With Ceylon gaining independence in 1948, he was elected to Parliament and became a member of the first Cabinet as Minister of Transport and Works. He was overlooked for the post of prime minister when his uncle, the first prime minister of Ceylon, D. S. Senanayake, died suddenly. A year later he succeeded his cousin, Dudley Senanayake, as the third Prime Minister of Ceylon, serving until his party lost the general election in 1956. Kotelawala retired from politics thereafter, going to self-imposed exile in Kent. Having donated his home, Kandawala, to the state to form a defense university, he was granted the rank of general on his deathbed.
- ^ Dhanapala, D.B (1963). Among Those Present (2nd ed.). Colombo, Sri Lanka: D.B.Nihalsinghe (published 2012). pp. 82–96. ISBN 978-955-53462-0-7.