Deshamanya Kanapathipillai William "Bill" Devanayagam (26 March 1910 – 17 December 2002) was a Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer, politician, government minister and Member of Parliament.
K. W. Devanayagam | |
|---|---|
க. வி. தேவநாயகம் | |
 | |
| Minister of Justice | |
| In office 1977–1980 | |
| Succeeded by | Nissanka Wijeratne |
| Minister of Home Affairs | |
| Member of the Ceylonese Parliament for Kalkudah | |
| In office 1965–1989 | |
| Preceded by | P. Manicavasagam |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 March 1910 |
| Died | 17 December 2002 (aged 92) |
| Political party | United National Party |
| Alma mater | St. Joseph's College, Colombo Ceylon Law College |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Ethnicity | Sri Lankan Tamil |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Early life
editDevanayagam was born on 26 March 1910.[1] A Roman Catholic, Devanayagam was educated at St. Joseph's College, Colombo.[2][3] A keen sportsman, he captained the school's cricket team in 1930 and was the East Ceylon champion in tennis.[2][3] After school Devanayagam joined Ceylon Law College, qualifying as a proctor.[2]
Career
editDevanayagam practised law in Kalkudah, Batticaloa District for many years.[2][3]
Devanayagam stood as an independent candidate for Kalkudah at the 1947 parliamentary election but was defeated by V. Nalliah.[4] He contested the 1965 parliamentary election as a United National Party candidate. He won the election and entered Parliament.[5] He was re-elected at the 1970 and 1977 parliamentary elections.[6][7] He was appointed Minister of Justice in July 1977.[8] He became Minister of Home Affairs in February 1980.[3][9]
Death
editReferences
edit- ^ "Devanayagam, Kanapathipillai William". Parliament of Sri Lanka.
- ^ a b c d e "Ex-Justice Minister Devanayagam dies". The Island (Sri Lanka). 18 December 2002.
- ^ a b c d e Perera, Supun (23 January 2003). "K. W. Devanayagam - the gentle politician". Daily News (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 13 May 2007.
- ^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1947" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015.
- ^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1965" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 July 2015.
- ^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1970" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 December 2009.
- ^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1977" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2011.
- ^ Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 25: War or peace?". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Archived from the original on 16 April 2002.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 27: Horsewhip Amirthalingham". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Archived from the original on 22 June 2002.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)