C. W. W. Kannangara

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Hon. Dr. C. W. W. Kannangara
සී. ඩබ්ලිව්. ඩබ්ලිව්. කන්නන්ගර
Dr. C. W. W. Kannangara
Minister of Education
In office 1931–1947
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	E. A. Nugawela
Minister of Housing and Local Government
In office 1952–1956
Prime Minister	Dudley Senanayake John Kotelawala
Preceded by	Dudley Senanayake
Succeeded by	Jayaweera Kuruppu
Chief Government Whip
In office 1952–1956
Prime Minister	Dudley Senanayake John Kotelawala
Preceded by	A. E. Goonesinghe
Succeeded by	W. J. C. Moonesinghe
President of Ceylon National Congress
In office 1931–19??
Member of the Ceylon Parliament for Agalawatte
In office 1952–1956
Preceded by	S. A. Silva
Succeeded by	Anil Moonesinghe
Member of the State Council of Ceylon for Galle
In office 1931–1935
Preceded by	Constituency created
Succeeded by	H. W. Amarasuriya
Member of the State Council of Ceylon for Matugama
In office 1936–1947
Preceded by	D. D. Athulathmudali
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Personal details
Born	Christopher William Wijekoon Kannangara (1884-10-13)13 October 1884 Wewala, Hikkaduwa
Died	23 September 1969(1969-09-23) (aged 84) Colombo General Hospital, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Nationality	Sri Lankan
Political party	Ceylon National Congress United National Party
Spouse	Edith née Weerasooria
Children	Dr. Chithraranjan Swarajweera Wijekoon Kannangara, Kusumawathi Wijekoon Senevirathne
Parents	John Daniel Wijekoon Kannangara (father) Emily Wijesinghe (mother)
Residence(s)	No.38 Thimbirigasyaya Road, Colombo 5
Alma mater	Wesleyan Missionary School Randombe, Ambalangoda, Richmond College, Galle
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Lawyer

Dr. Cristopher William Wijekoon Kannangara (Sinhala ආචාර්ය ක්‍රිස්ටෝෆර් විලියම් විජේකෝන් කන්නන්ගර; 18 October 1894 – 23 September 1969) was a Sri Lankan Lawyer and a politician. He rose up the ranks of Sri Lanka's movement for independence in the early part of the 20th century. As a lawyer he defended the detainees that were imprisoned during the Riots of 1915, many of whom were the emerging leaders of the independence movement. In 1931, he became the President of Ceylon National Congress, the forerunner to the United National Party. Later, he became the first Minister of Education in the State Council of Ceylon, and was instrumental in introducing extensive reforms to the country's education system that opened up education to children from all levels of society.

Born in the Southern coastal town of Hikkaduwa, his academic progress at the free Wesleyan school enabled him to win a Foundation Scholarship to Richmond College, Galle, a prestigious secondary school at the time managed by the Methodist church. After leaving school, he worked as a teacher in Mathematics at Wesley College, Colombo and Prince of Wales' College, Moratuwa. He excelled as a lawyer in the Southern Province, eventually getting elected in 1923 as its representative, first to the Legislative Council of Ceylon, and then to its successor the State Council.

Becoming Minister of Education in the State Council, Kannangara and the Committees of Education introduced extensive reforms to Sri Lanka's education system throughout the 1940s.^[1][2] He began a Central Colleges scheme, which established high quality secondary schools for the benefit of thousands of underprivileged students in the rural parts of the country. Kannangara was also the Chairman of the Committee that submitted the Free Education Bill for a vote in the State Council, though he was initially opposed to complete free education.^[1][2] Kannangara's significant achievements in areas of education have led him to being commonly referred to as the Father of Free Education in Sri Lanka.^[1][3][4]