George E. de Silva
| The Honourable George E. de Silva MP | |
|---|---|
 George E. de Silva in the first Cabinet of Ministers of Ceylon | |
| Minister of Industries, Industrial Research & Fisheries | |
|
In office 26 September 1947 – 1948 | |
| Prime Minister | D. S. Senanayake |
| Preceded by | Office created |
| Succeeded by | G. G. Ponnambalam |
| Member of the Ceylon Parliament for Kandy | |
|
In office 1947–1949 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency created |
| Succeeded by | Tamara Kumari Ilangaratne |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
1879 Ceylon |
| Died |
1950 Ceylon |
| Nationality | Ceylonese |
| Political party | United National Party |
| Children | Fredrick de Silva |
George Edmund de Silva (1879 - 1950) was a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician. He was the first Cabinet Minister of Industries, Industrial Research and Fisheries in independent Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) (1947–1948), a Member of Parliament & State Council.[1]
He started his career as a journalist in the Ceylon Independent and in The Times of Ceylon. Later he entered the Ceylon Law College and started a law practice in Kandy.
In 1915 de Silva and E. W. Perera carried a secret Memorial initiated and drafted by Sir James Peiris to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, pleading for the repeal of martial law and vindication of the reputations of those who had been falsely accused during the riots of 1915.
De Silva entered politics after he was elected to the Kandy Municipal Council in 1930. In 1931 he was elected to the State Council from the Central Province. Having been re-elected, he was appointed Minister of Health. In 1943 he was elected the President of the Ceylon National Congress. After Ceylon gained independence, de Silva was appointed to the D. S. Senanayake's cabinet as the first Minister for Industries and Fisheries.
He is the father of Fredrick de Silva, MBE who was the Mayor of Kandy, Member of Parliament and Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in France. His grandson is The Sir Desmond de Silva, former United Nations Chief War Crimes Prosecutor in Sierra Leone adn husband of Princess Katarina of Yugoslavia. George E. de Silva's daughter Minnette de Silva was the first Asian woman to qualify as an architect with the Royal Institute of British Architects. She worked on early experiments of tropical modernism in Sri Lanka. He is also grand-uncle to journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge.[2]
References
- ↑ George E. De Silva — Champion Of The Poor
- ↑ AND THEN THEY CAME FOR ME: The Lasantha Wickrematunge Story by Raine Wickrematunge, p.2-5 (AuthorHouseUK) ISBN 1481789902
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