Hon.
D. E. W. Gunasekera
MP
ඩී. ඊ. ඩබ්. ගුණසේකර
Minister of Constitutional Reform
In office
May 2004 – April 2010
Preceded byG. L. Peiris
Minister of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms
In office
April 2010 – November 2010
Succeeded byChandrasiri Gajadeera
Senior Minister of Human Resources
In office
November 2010 – 12 January 2015
Member of Parliament
for National List
In office
2004–2015
Personal details
Born (1935-03-04) 4 March 1935
Kivula, Ceylon
Political partyCommunist Party of Sri Lanka
Other political
affiliations		United People's Freedom Alliance
Alma materVidyalankara University
OccupationCivil servant

Don Edwin Weerasinghe Gunasekera (born 4 March 1935) is a Sri Lankan politician, former Member of Parliament and former cabinet minister. He is the current leader of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka (CPSL), a member of the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA).[1]

Early life

Gunasekera was born 4 March 1935 in Kivula in southern Ceylon.[2][3] He was educated at Rahula College in Matara.[4][5] After school he joined Vidyalankara University in the 1950s, graduating with a degree in economics.[3]

Gunasekera joined Ceylon Law College in the early 1970s but was expelled for attempting to cheat.[6]

Career

After Vidyalankara Gunasekera worked at the Inland Revenue Department for many years.[3]

Gunasekera joined the Communist Party of Ceylon in 1958.[3] He wrote for the party's newspaper Mawbima and was a youth leader.[3] He later became a member of the party's central committee and eventually the party's general secretary.[3]

In 1988 the CPSL, Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), Nava Sama Samaja Party and Sri Lanka People's Party formed the United Socialist Alliance (USA).[7] Gunasekera was one of the USA's candidates in Matara District at the 1989 parliamentary election but the USA failed to win any seats in the district.[8][9] On 20 January 2004 the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) formed the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA).[10] The CPSL and LSSP joined the UPFA in February 2004.[11][12] Gunasekera was appointed as a UPFA National List MP in the Sri Lankan Parliament following the 2004 parliamentary election.[13] Gunasekera was put forward as the UPFA's candidate for Speaker but was defeated by opposition candidate W. J. M. Lokubandara after three dramatic rounds of voting in Parliament.[14][15][16] Gunasekera was appointed Minister of Constitutional Reform in May 2004.[17] He was given the additional portfolio of National Integration on 28 January 2007.[18][19]

Gunasekera was re-appointed as a UPFA National List MP following the 2010 parliamentary election.[20][21] He was appointed Minister of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms after the election.[22][23] He was promoted to Senior Minister of Human Resources in November 2010.[24][25] He lost his cabinet position following the 2015 presidential election.

At the 2015 parliamentary election Gunasekera was placed on the UPFA's list of National List candidates.[26][27] However, after the election he was not appointed to the National List.[28][29]

Electoral history

Electoral history of D. E. W. Gunasekera
Election Constituency Party Votes Result
1989 parliamentary[9]Matara DistrictUSA2,735Not elected

References

  1. ↑ "The reason for the decline of art is the neo-liberal economy". Sarasaviya. 13 August 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  2. ↑ "Directory of Past Members: DEW Gunasekera". Parliament of Sri Lanka.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Amaranayake, Vindya (9 November 2008). "Golden gentleman socialist". The Nation (Sri Lanka).
  4. ↑ Wijayawardhana, Upul (18 September 2015). "Sri Lanka: Light at the end of the tunnel". The Island (Sri Lanka).
  5. ↑ Gunasekera, D. E. W. (6 November 2005). "He liberated the Ruhuna people". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
  6. ↑ Jansz, Frederica (30 May 2004). "D.E.W. was sacked from Law College". The Sunday Leader. Archived from the original on 15 January 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  7. ↑ Maher, Joanne, ed. (2004). The Europa World Year Book 2004: Volume II - Kazakhstan - Zimbabwe. Europa Publications. p. 3933. ISBN 1-85743-255-X.
  8. ↑ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1989" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-04. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  9. 1 2 de Silva, W. P. P.; Ferdinando, T. C. L. 9th Parliament of Sri Lanka (PDF). Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited. p. 179. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-06-23.
  10. ↑ "SLFP-JVP alliance signed in Colombo". TamilNet. 20 January 2004.
  11. ↑ "LSSP, CP agree to join SLFP-JVP alliance". TamilNet. 15 February 2004.
  12. ↑ "UPFA expands : CP, LSSP join Alliance". Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka). 15 February 2004. Archived from the original on 13 November 2004. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  13. ↑ "UPFA list". The Island (Sri Lanka). 9 April 2004.
  14. ↑ "Opposition candidate Lokubandara elected Speaker". TamilNet. 22 April 2004.
  15. ↑ "Chaos in the House". The Island (Sri Lanka). 23 April 2004.
  16. ↑ Nakkawita, Wijitha (23 April 2004). "W.J.M.elected Speaker after marathon poll". The Island (Sri Lanka).
  17. ↑ "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Appointments & c., by the President" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1342/09. 26 May 2004.
  18. ↑ "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Appointments & c., by the President" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1482/08. 29 January 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2014.
  19. ↑ "The New Cabinet". The Island (Sri Lanka). 29 January 2007.
  20. ↑ "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Government Notifications THE PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS ACT, No. 1 OF 1981" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1650/19. 21 April 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 December 2014.
  21. ↑ "UPFA names National list". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 21 April 2010.
  22. ↑ "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Appointments & c., by the President" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1651/3. 26 April 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 May 2010.
  23. ↑ "New Cabinet Ministers & Deputy Ministers". Daily News (Sri Lanka). 24 April 2010.
  24. ↑ "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Appointments & c., by the President" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1681/2. 22 November 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2014.
  25. ↑ "NEW FACES BOOST CABINET AS HOPES RISE". The Nation (Sri Lanka). 28 November 2010. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  26. ↑ "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Government Notifications PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS ACT, No. 1 OF 1981 List of Persons submitted under Article 99A of the Constitution" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1923/02. 13 July 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015.
  27. ↑ "UPFA, UNP national lists announced". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 13 July 2015.
  28. ↑ "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Government Notifications PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION — 2015 Declaration under Article 99A of the Constitution" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1928/25. 21 August 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015.
  29. ↑ "UPFA finalises National list". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 21 August 2015.
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