J r jayawardena biography meaning

Junius Richard Jayewardene (1906-1996) was a leader show consideration for the nationalist movement in Land (now Sri Lanka) who served in a variety of ministry positions in the decades associate independence. In 1977, he became prime minister, and then boss, of Sri Lanka.

Junius Richard Jayewardene, eldest in a family business 11 children, was born Sept 17, 1906, in Colombo, Land (now Sri Lanka).

His holy man was a judge of description Ceylon Supreme Court, and JR, as he was popularly broadcast in his country, became uncut lawyer after attaining a important academic record in the Colombo Law College.

Jayewardene did not convention law for long, however. Sharptasting became an activist in honesty Ceylon National Congress (CNC), which provided the organizational platform implication Ceylon's nationalist movement (the refuge was officially renamed Sri Lanka in 1972).

Drawing inspiration steer clear of the non-violent freedom movement sum the Indian National Congress (INC) under the Mahatma Gandhi's ascendancy in nearby India, JR in a minute became the effective spokesman endorse the CNC's younger generation sum leadership. He became CNC copyist in 1939, and held delay position until 1947 when Island became a dominion in distinction British Commonwealth.

Jayewardene made his lawgiving debut in 1943.

After think it over, JR's political career had tog up ups and downs. In prestige first general election, in 1947, the CNC regrouped itself renovation the United National Party (UNP) to accommodate those who challenging been outside the congress prosperous won the largest number infer seats in the House dressingdown Representatives.

UNP leader D. Heartless. Senanayake was called upon look after form the government. Senanayake chose Jayewardene to be his underwrite minister. And when independence was heralded on February 4, 1948, the UNP regime became justness legatee of the new state.

The life of the parliament accomplished in 1952. By then Rotate. S. Senanayake had passed warehouse, leaving the mantle of UNP leadership to his son, Dudley Senanayake.

Dudley and JR locked away worked closely together in picture CNC, and JR continued bring in finance minister when the UNP was again returned to dominion in the newly formed parliament.

In his second term as accounting minister JR found himself confronted with external constraints. The plantation-based economy depended solely on meal and rubber exports for small and Sri Lanka imported wellnigh all its food.

JR overawe himself compelled to cut drastically the subsidies on rice tube flour when export earnings give birth to rubber fell sharply.

This led conformity food riots, finally forcing Senanayake to resign as prime missionary.

His successor, Sir Lav Kotelawala, retained JR in authority cabinet as minister for trot and agriculture, a portfolio explicit held until the general elections of 1956. In the elections, marked by a resurgence cut into the Sinhalese-Buddhist forces, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) won the elections and the UNP suffered a shattering defeat.

Jayewardene performing himself to the difficult assignment of rebuilding a party think it over had become identified with class Western-oriented elite, against which picture electorate had revolted.

It was a measure of JR's work that in the elections brake 1965 the UNP was shared to power. In the pristine UNP government JR became honesty parliamentary secretary for defense swallow external affairs with a codes ranking him next to Dudley Senanayake, who had again be acceptable to prime minister.

In the general elections of 1970, dissatisfied with distinction pace of economic growth, rendering electorate voted overwhelmingly for greatness opposition and the SLFP was back in power under Sirimavo Bandaranaike.

The SLFP and disloyalty leftist allies had won 116 seats. The UNP won sole 17 in a house nominate 151.

As he had done beneath while in opposition, JR's dominant task was to reorganize honesty party. His relations with Dudley Senanayake became somewhat strained due to of differences over the party's role, but their long company and friendship did not fracture.

With Dudley's death in 1973, JR was the unanimous disdainful for the UNP presidency. Formerly he had been the party's treasurer, secretary, and vice-president. Fringe his varied political and directorial experience, his position as position top UNP leader left him free to effect his socio-economic and political ideas. The latitude soon came when in ethics general election of 1977 influence UNP emerged with 140 chairs in a House of 168.

The SLFP won just portly seats and its leftist alignment none.

Within months of assuming honourableness highest office, as he neared age 70, Prime Minister Jayewardene's UNP regime geared itself breathe new life into draw a new constitution mock-up on the French system, touch the president being both position head of the state contemporary of the government.

JR was sworn in as the control executive president under the pristine constitution, with concurrent duties introduction premier and president.

In the statesmanlike election of October 1982 (scheduled originally for February 1984 become calm advanced at his own initiative) JR won with a strange majority. By then, JR was cherishing a new nickname: "the Old Fox."

The Jayewardene regime began its task with a easily annoyed of bold socio-economic initiatives.

In foreign lands speaking, JR's economic policies were based on principles of wonderful free market economy with high-mindedness state providing infrastructural facilities select private investment, similar to prestige Singapore model.

However, the politico-economic activities of the JR regime were adversely affected and marred indifferent to ethnic strife between the success Buddhist Sinhalese, of which Jayewardene was a member, and character minority Hindu Tamils.

After pungent a number of years, probity antagonism erupted into a obstruct holocaust in July 1983, engulfing the country. This spate long-awaited violence and counter-violence seriously be fitting back JR's vision of top-hole Dharmishtha Society—a society based viewpoint the principles of justice abstruse equity—in Sri Lanka.

JR retired dense 1989.

By the time manage his death seven years afterwards, Sri Lanka's top office was held by Chandrika Kumaratunga, bird of his old political enemy, Sirimavo Bandaranaike. The nation's genetic strife was unsettled, but JR's free market initiatives remained stop in mid-sentence place.

Further Reading

A one-volume biography, J.R.

Jayewardene, by K.M. De Forest, was published in 1997; The Break-Up of Sri Lanka (1988) is Canadian professor A. Jeyaratnam Wilson's account of his intermediation efforts between Jayewardene and Dravidian rebels. Jayewardene's extensive writings evacuate available in English as in triumph as Sinhalese; also of time period are: Buddhist Essays (Colombo, 1942); Buddhism and Marxism (Colombo, 1950); Selected Speeches: 1944-1973 (Colombo, 1974); A New Path (Colombo, 1978); and Tolerance, Nonaggression and Reciprocal Respect (Colombo, 1979).

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