Gamini Fonseka

Gamini Fonseka
MP
Gamini Fonseka
3rd Governor of the North Eastern Province
In office
13 January 1995 – 20 October 1998
PresidentChandrika Kumaratunga
Preceded byLionel Fernando
Succeeded byAsoka Jayawardena
Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka
In office
9 March 1989 – 24 June 1994
PresidentRanasinghe Premadasa
D. B. Wijetunga
Prime MinisterD. B. Wijetunga
Ranil Wickremesinghe
Preceded byNorman Waidyaratne
Succeeded byAnil Moonesinghe
Member of Parliament
for Matara District
In office
9 March 1989 – 24 June 1994
Majority19,618 preferential votes
Personal details
Born
Sembuge Gamini Shelton Fonseka

(1936-03-21)21 March 1936
Dehiwala, British Ceylon
Died30 September 2004(2004-09-30) (aged 68)
Ja-Ela, Sri Lanka
Political partyUnited National Party
Spouse
Dorothy Margaret Valancia
(m. 1962)
Domestic partnerAngela Seneviratne
Children6
Parent(s)William Fonseka
Daisy Fonseka
EducationS. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia
OccupationActor, film director, politician
Known forCinema Sakwithi
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Kala Keerthi Sembuge Gamini Shelton Fonseka (Sinhala: සෙම්බුගේ ගාමිණි ශෙල්ටන් ෆොන්සේකා; 21 March 1936 – 30 September 2004) was a Sri Lankan film actor, film director and politician.[1] Often considered as the greatest actor in Sinhala cinema,[2] Fonseka dominated the industry in 1960s and 1970s and won several Best Actor and Popular Actor awards throughout his career.[3] Apart from acting, he also served as the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka from 1989 to 1994 and the Governor of the North Eastern Province from 1995 to 1998.

He is widely regarded as one of the Kings of Sri Lankan cinema, and was the first of the three crowned kings (the other two being Joe Abeywickrama and Tony Ranasinghe) to pass away.[4]

  1. ^ "Actors of Sinhala cinema - Gamini Fonseka". Sinhala Cinema Database. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  2. ^ "The universal symbol of Sinhala cinema: On the occasion of Gamini Fonseka's 85th birthday". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  3. ^ "In memory of Gamini". sundaytimes. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Trinity of Sinhala cinema". Divaina. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019.