List of University of Colombo people
The following people spent time at the University of Colombo as either teaching staff or students.
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Heads of State & Government
Prominent figures in the Independence Movement
Legislators and political figures
- Professor Sir Nicholas Attygalle, FRCS - former President of the Senate of Ceylon, Vice-Chancellor of University of Ceylon, Dean Faculty of Medicine & Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
- Deshamanya Neville Kanakeratne - former Governor of the Southern Province
- Hon. Dr Nissanka Wijeyeratne, CCS - former Cabinet Minister of Education, Higher Education and Justice, Member of Parliament, Sri Lankan Ambassador to the Russian Federation, a former Permanent Secretary & Diyawadana Nilame of the Temple of the Tooth.
- Senator Somasundaram Nadesan - former Senator
- Hon. Anil Moonesinghe - former Cabinet Minister and Member of Parliament.
- Hon. Ronnie De Mel, CCS - former Cabinet Minister and Member of Parliament.
- Hon. Prof G. L. Peiris - former Cabinet Minister and Member of Parliament.
- Hon. Dr Tissa Vitharana - current Cabinet Minister of Science and Technology and Member of Parliament.
- Hon. William de Silva - former Cabinet Minister and Member of Parliament.
- Hon. Tissa Attanayake - former Cabinet Minister and current Member of Parliament.
- Hon. M. Sivasithamparam - former Deputy Speaker of Parliament
- A. Amirthalingam - former Opposition leader, Member of Parliament and Tamil separatist
- Hector Abhayavardhana - Trotskyist
Clergy and religious figures
Civil servants
- Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe, CCS - former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance & Treasury, Ministry of Health (note: - Also listed in Diplomats)
- Deshamanya Dr Gamani Corea - former Secretary-General of the UNCTD (1974–1984), Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs, Senior Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Ceylon[1]
- Rajendra Coomaraswamy, CCS - former Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific of the UNDP and President Colombo Plan Council.[2]
- G.V.P. Samarasinghe, CCS - former Cabinet Secretary and Permanent Secretary of Defence and Foreign Affairs
- Deshamanya C.A. Coorey, SLAS - former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance & Treasury
- S.J. Walpita, CCS - former Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Industries & Fisheries and Vice-Chancellor of University of Ceylon, Peradeniya[3]
- Bradman Weerakoon, CCS - former Secretary to the Prime Minister
- Bernard Peiris, OBE, JP - former Cabinet Secretary [4]
- M. J. Perera, CCS- first Chairman of the Rupavahini Corporation, former Permanent Secretary of the Education and Cultural Affairs Ministry and Vice-Chancellor of University of Peradeniya
- Hemasiri Fernando - former Secretary to the Prime Minister
Diplomats
Military
Police
Academics
Vice Chancellors
Professors and scholars
- Professor Ediriweera Sarachchandra - playwright, novelist and poet
- Professor A. Suri Ratnapala - Professor of Law, T.C. Beirne School of Law, University of Queensland
- Professor K. N. Seneviratne - Professor of Medicine and founder director of Sri Lanka's Postgraduate Institute of Medicine [9][10]
- Professor Shan Ratnam - Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, National University Hospital of Singapore
- Professor Nalin de Silva - Professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Kelaniya
- Professor Deshamanya J B Disanayake - Professor and former Head of the Department of Sinhala, University of Colombo
- Professor Nira Wickramasinghe-Historian and Professor of Modern South Asian Studies at Leiden University in the Netherlands
- Professor Jayadeva Uyangoda-Professor and former Head of the Department of political science, University of Colombo
- Dr. Brendon Gooneratne - Head and Senior Lecturer, Department of Parasitology, University of Ceylon, Peradeniya
- Dr Gihan Wikramanayake - Head and Senior Lecturer, Department of Information Systems Engineering of the University of Colombo School of Computing.
- Dr Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri- Historian and Head of the Department of History, University of Colombo
- Dr Maitree Wickramasinghe - academic and senior lecturer at the Department of English of the University of Kelaniya
- Professor Devaka Fernando-Foundation Professor of Medicine Universityof Sri Jayawardanapura, Visiting Professor of Endocrinology University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, University of Sheffield and Honorary Professor Sheffield Hallam University (Student Faculty of Medicine 1976-1981 and Senior Lecturer in Medicine 1994-1996)
- ProfessorHithanadura Janaka De Silva Foundation Professor of Medicine University of Kelaniya, Dean Faculty of Medicine Kelaniya (Student Faculty of Medicine 1977-1982)
Artist
Novelists, poets and playwrights
Actors
Visual artists
Judges
Medicine
Journalist
Sportsmen
Lawyers
Engineers
Activists
Faculty
References