List of University of Colombo people
The following people spent time at the University of Colombo as either teaching staff or students.
This is an incomplete list that may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.
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
- Tissa Devendra - former Chairman of Public Service Commission, Chairman of Salaries Commission. First President of the Colombo University Alumni Association
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)
- Professor Hithanadura 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
- Malaka Dewapriya- Film Maker, Short film director, video Artist, Radio play writer
Judges
Medicine
- Dr Charles Alwis Hewavitharana - Independence activist
- Dr Richard Lionel Spittel, CMG, CBE - Naturalist and author
- Dr Brendon Gooneratne - Scholar and author
- 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
- ProfessorHithanadura Janaka De Silva Foundation Professor of Medicine University of Kelaniya, Dean Faculty of Medicine Kelaniya
Journalist
Sportsmen
Lawyers
Engineers
- B.D Rampala - former Chief Mechanical Engineer and General Manager Ceylon Government Railway
Activists
Faculty
References