Dingiri Bandara Welagedara

Sri Lankan politician (1915–1989)

Hon. Dingiri Banda Welagedara


1st Governor of North Central Province
In office May 1988 – May 1989
Preceded by	Office created
Succeeded by	E. L. Senanayake
Member of the Ceylonese Parliament for Kurunegala
In office 1952–1956
Preceded by	Herbert Sri Nissanka
Succeeded by	D. B. Monnekulama
In office 1965–1970
Preceded by	Jayah Pathirana
Succeeded by	P. Wijesinghe
In office 1977–1988
Preceded by	P. Wijesinghe
Succeeded by	seat abolished

Personal details
Born	(1915-10-31)31 October 1915 Polgahawela, Sri Lanka
Died	2 April 1989(1989-04-02) (aged 73)
Political party	United National Party
Alma mater	Ananda College, Colombo Nalanda College, Colombo St. John's College, Jaffna

Dingiri Banda Welagedera (31 October 1915 – 2 April 1989) also known as D. B. Welagedera was the Deputy Minister of Plan Implementation and Minister a former Member of Parliament representing Kurunegala District. Welagedera served as the 1st Governor of North Central Province. He was appointed in May 1988 and was Governor until May 1989. He was succeeded by E. L. Senanayake.^[1]

Born on 31 October 1915 at Panaliya, Polgahawela, as Welagedara Mudiyanselage Dingiri Banda Welagedera was the only child of the family. He was educated at Ananda College, Colombo, Nalanda College, Colombo and at St. John's College, Jaffna before entering Colombo Law College. He joined government service in the first batch of Divisional Revenue Officers that replaced the native headmen system. He was elected the president of the Divisional Revenue Officers' Association.^[2]

He resigned from government service to contest the 1952 general election from the United National Party from the Kurunegala District. He was elected to the House of Representatives defeating Herbert Sri Nissanka. He contested the July 1960 general election but lost to D. B. Monnekulama, but was successful in the 1965 general election and again defeated Monnekulama in the 1977 general election. He served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Nationalised Services from 1965 to 1970 and was appointed Deputy Minister of Plan Implementation in 1977. He served as Governor of the North Central Province from May 1988 to May 1989.

He died on 2 April 1989 and his body was donated to the Colombo Medical College. The Welagedara Stadium and the Welagedara Ayurveda Hospital has been named after him.

References

^ Cahoon, Ben. "Sri Lankan Provinces from 1988". World Statesmen.org. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
^ "D.B. Welagedara: Humble hero". Daily News. Retrieved 6 December 2019.

By B.D. Sumedha Aruna Shantha "Far-sighted democrat in Kurunegala". Daily News - Lakehouse Newspapers. 22 April 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-04-25. Retrieved 2009-07-02.

Political offices
Preceded by Office created	Governor of North Central Province 1988–1989	Succeeded by E. L. Senanayake

←

Members of the 2nd Parliament of Ceylon (1952 (1952)–1956) →

Speaker: Albert Peries
Prime Minister: Dudley Senanayake/John Kotelawala
Leader of the Opposition: S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike

Central Province (15)

Eastern Province (7)

Northern Province (9)

North Central Province (5)

North Western Province (10)

Sabaragamuwa Province (10)

Southern Province (12)

Uva Province (7)

Western Province (20)

Appointed (6)

v t e ← Members of the 6th Parliament of Ceylon (1965 (1965)–1970) →
Speaker: Albert Peries/Shirley Corea Prime Minister: Dudley Senanayake Leader of the Opposition: Sirimavo Bandaranaike
Central Province (23)	George Abeyagoonasekera S. S. Abeysundara Alick Aluwihare W. M. G. T. Banda M. A. Daniel L. B. Dassanayake Abdul Cader Shahul Hameed T. B. M. Herath C. Karunaratne R. Kulatillake P. G. Muthubanda H. M. Navaratne D. B. Ranatunga D. J. Ranaweera E. L. Senanayake Hemachandra Sirisena T. B. Tennekoon Aloysius Weerakoon R. P. Wijesiri Edmund Wijesuriya Dingiri Banda Wijetunga Noel Wimalasena S. B. Yalegama
Eastern Province (11)	K. W. Devanayagam M. S. Kariapper M. C. Ahamed A. L. Abdul Majeed M. A. Abdul Majeed S. M. Manickarajah M. E. H. Mohamed Ali M. M. Mustapha C. Rajadurai S. M. Rasamanickam Abdul Lathiff Sinnalebbe Senerath Somaratne
Northern Province (13)	V. A. Alegacone A. Amirthalingam S. J. V. Chelvanayakam V. Dharmalingam S. Kathiravelupillai E. M. V. Naganathan V. Navaratnam V. N. Navaratnam G. G. Ponnambalam K. P. Ratnam M. Sivasithamparam T. Sivasithamparam K. Thurairatnam
North Central Province (8)	C. P. de Silva E. L. B. Hurulle S. B. Lenawa R. B. Ratnamalala K. B. Ratnayake Maithripala Senanayake P. M. K. Tennakoon Leelaratne Wijesinghe
North Western Province (16)	M. D. Banda D. M. Tilakaratna Bandara Shirley Corea Herath Ekanayake S. B. Herat I. M. R. A. Iriyagolle M. H. M. Naina Marikar Festus Perera Albert Peries Hugh Fernando R. R. W. Rajapakse Leticia Rajapakse Richard Gotabhaya Senanayake J. L. Sirisena Tikiri Banda Subasinghe Mudiyanse Tennakoon U. B. Wanninayake Dingiri Bandara Welagedara
Sabaragamuwa Province (17)	M. L. M. Aboosally Dhanapala Attygalle C. R. Beligammana D. F. Hettiarachchi P. C. Imbulana P. B. G. Kalugalla Wimala Kannangara Asoka Karunaratne W. A. Karunasena Dharmadasa Wanniarachchi H. Kularatne Nanda Mathew N. M. Perera Abeyratne Pilapitiya Clifford Ratwatte Mallikka Ellawala Ratwatte Dudley Senanayake Dhanapala Weerasekera P. B. Wijesundara
Southern Province (19)	Matarage Sirisena Amarasiri D. P. Atapattu Wijeyananda Dahanayake Neal de Alwis A. D. S. de Silva L. C. de Silva Lakshman de Silva William de Silva Ronnie de Mel Charles Edirisuriya Prins Gunasekera Sirisena Hettige Montague Jayawickrama C. N. Kannangara George Rajapaksa M. H. Saddhasena R. G. Samaranayake Albert Kariyawasam Edwin Tillekeratne B. Y. Tudawe Percy Wickremasinghe S. A. Wickramasinghe
Uva Province (10)	W. P. G. Ariyadasa K. Y. M. Wijeratne Banda Dharmadasa Banda B. H. Bandara J. G. Gunasekera R. M. Appuhamy S. A. Peeris Kusuma Rajaratne Percy Samaraweera C. P. J. Seneviratne Raja Welegama
Western Province (35)	Felix Dias Bandaranaike S. D. Bandaranayake Sirimavo Bandaranaike Falil Caffoor Somaweera Chandrasiri M. Ruskin Fernando T. Quintin Fernando Denzil Fernando Cholomondeley Goonewardene Leslie Goonewardene Philip Gunawardena Lakshman Jayakody D. Shelton Jayasinghe S. de Silva Jayasinghe Gamini Jayasuriya M. D. H. Jayawardena J. R. Jayewardene Pieter Keuneman Abdul Bakeer Markar Wijayapala Mendis M. H. Mohamed Anil Moonesinghe Colvin R. de Silva Mangala Moonesinghe S. Obeyesekera Dayasena Pasqual K. D. David Perera Paris Perera R. S. Perera Ranasinghe Premadasa D. S. Samarasinghe T. B. Ilangaratne M. P. de Z. Siriwardena Bernard Soysa V. A. Sugathadasa S. K. K. Suriarachchi Stanley Tillekeratne Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
Appointed (6)	A. Ratnapala M. T. Mohamed Veloo Annamalay Razik Fareed R. Singleton-Salmon Savumiamoorthy Thondaman Vernon Jonklaas

v t e ← Members of the 8th Parliament of Sri Lanka (1977 (1977)–1989) →
Speaker: Anandatissa de Alwis/Abdul Bakeer Markar/E. L. Senanayake Prime Minister: J. R. Jayewardene/Ranasinghe Premadasa Leader of the Opposition: A. Amirthalingam/Anura Bandaranaike
Central Province (24)	George Abeyagoonasekera S. S. Abeysundara Alick Aluwihare R. B. Attanayake J. G. Wijeratne Banda W. M. G. T. Banda Anura Bandaranaike D. M. Chandrapala R. P. Wijesiri M. A. Daniel Rupa Sriyani Daniel Ananda Dassanayake Gamini Dissanayake W. M. P. B. Dissanayake K. W. R. M. Ekananayake Abdul Cader Shahul Hameed Renuka Herath C. Karunaratne P. B. Kaviratne Gamini Rajapakse Shelton Ranaraja E. L. Senanayake Savumiamoorthy Thondaman T. B. Werapitiya R. P. Wijesiri L. M. Wijesiri Dingiri Banda Wijetunga
Eastern Province (12)	M. L. Ahamed Fareeth Ahamed Rizvi Sinnalebbe M. Canagaratnam Ranganayaki Pathmanathan P. Dayaratna K. W. Devanayagam P. Ganeshalingam M. A. M. Jalaldeen H. D. L. Leelaratne M. E. H. Maharoof M. A. Abdul Majeed Abdul Rasak Mansoor C. Rajadurai R. Sampanthan
Northern Province (14)	A. Amirthalingam V. Anandasangaree V. Dharmalingam S. Kathiravelupillai M. Alalasundaram V. N. Navaratnam T. Rasalingam K. P. Ratnam X. M. Sellathambu M. Sivasithamparam T. Sivasithamparam P. S. Soosaithasan T. Thirunavukarasu Neelan Tiruchelvam K. Thurairatnam V. Yogeswaran
North Central Province (10)	A. M. S. Adikari K. D. M. C. Bandara Merril de Silva S. B. Wijekoon A. D. B. Ekanayake W. Y. Herath E. L. B. Hurulle G. D. Mahindasoma H. G. P. Nelson Maithripala Senanayake Dayaratne Walagambahu
North Western Province (19)	H. B. Abeyratne S. W. Alawatuwala Harindra Corea S. B. Herat Harold Herath J. A. D. S. R. Jayakody Lionel Jayatilleke H. M. A. Lokubanda M. H. M. Naina Marikar Festus Perera Gamini Jayawickrama Perera G. M. Premachandra Amarawathie Piyaseeli Ratnayake Kalubanda Ratnayake J. L. Sirisena Saddhatissa Wadigamangawa Asoka Wadigamangawa H. B. Wanninayake Dingiri Bandara Welagedara Ukkubanda Wijekoon
Sabaragamuwa Province (17)	M. L. M. Aboosally Gamini Atukorale C. R. Beligammana Chandrasekera Gankanda P. C. Imbulana Wimala Kannangara Asoka Karunaratne H. Kularatne Mervyn Kularatne Leonard Kiriella, Wimal Wickramasinghe Nanda Mathew K. Vincent Perera Abeyratne Pilapitiya Sarath Muttetuwegama G. V. Punchinilame N. A. Seneviratne Wasantha Udayaratne A. K. D. Wanigaratne Nissanka Wijeyeratne
Southern Province (21)	Keerthisena Abeywickrama Keerthilatha Abeywickrama Sumanadasa Abeywickrama Richard Pathirana Matarage Sirisena Amarasiri Ranjit Atapattu P. M. B. Cyril Ronnie de Mel P. S. Galappaththi Albert Silva Wijeyananda Dahanayake T. D. Fransisku K. Ananda Kularatne Montague Jayawickrama Rupasena Karunatilake Don Edwin Malawaraarachchi Albert Silva Chandrakumara Wijeya Gunawardena S. K. Piyadasa Bandulahewa Senadheera Daya Sepali Senadheera P. Sumathiratne G. V. S. de Silva Raitor Thilakasekara M. H. K. Jagathsena Edwin Tillekeratne Somaratne Asokaweera Norman Waidyaratna Harshanath Wanigasekera Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena Jinadasa Weerasinghe Dayananda Wickremasinghe E. D. Wickrematilaka Amarasiri Dodangoda
Uva Province (12)	R. M. Abeykoon R. M. Apphamy Dharmadasa Banda R. M. Punchi Bandara R. M. Karunaratne W. M. Karunaratne J. M. Kumaradasa W. J. M. Lokubandara D. Vincent Perera Percy Samaraweera C. P. J. Seneviratne Lakshman Senewiratne Samaraweera Weerawanni
Western Province (39)	Lalith Athulathmudali Dharmasena Attygalle Gamini Lokuge Sirimavo Bandaranaike S. D. Bandaranayake Jabir Cader Anandatissa de Alwis N. Denzil Fernando Neville Fernando Tyronne Fernando Bennet Gunasekera Premaratne Gunasekera Dinesh Gunawardena Tudor Gunasekara Jayakody Kamalawarana Indradasa Hettiarachchi M. Haleem Ishak D. Shelton Jayasinghe S. de Silva Jayasinghe Sunethra Ranasinghe Gamini Jayasuriya Ariyaratne Jayatillake M. D. H. Jayawardena J. R. Jayewardene Anura Bastian Merrill Kariyawasam Weerasinghe Mallimarachchi Abdul Bakeer Markar Cyril Mathew Wijayapala Mendis M. H. Mohamed Joseph Michael Perera Vincent Perera O. S. Perera Ranasinghe Premadasa M. D. Premaratne Sarathchandra Rajakaruna R. G. Samaranayake Senaraja Samaranayake Edmund Samarawickrema Ranil Wickremesinghe Reginald V. Wijegunaratne Anil Moonesinghe V. L. Wijemanne Mahendra Wijeratne

v t e Members of the Sri Lankan Parliament from Kurunegala
Kurunegala Electoral District (1947–1989) Current District: Kurunegala Electoral District
One–member (1947 – 1989)	Herbert Sri Nissanka Dingiri Bandara Welagedara D. B. Monnekulama Dingiri Bandara Welagedara P. Wijesinghe Dingiri Bandara Welagedara
Multi–member (1989 – Present)	(1989 – 1994): G. M. Premachandra Amara Piyaseeli Ratnayake Sarathchandra Bandara Welagedara Upali Mervin Senarath Dasanayaka Ariya Bandara Rekawa Ukkubanda Wijekoon Upali Piyasoma S. B. Nawinne Herath Banda Wanninayaka H. M. A. Loku Bandara A. M. Munidasa Premachandra Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Bandaranayake Diunugallage Peter Wickramasinghe Lionel Rajapaksa Jayasena Rajakaruna (1994 – 2000): S. B. Nawinne Gamini Jayawickrama Perera T. B. Ekanayake Munidasa Premachandra Salinda Dissanayake Anura Priyadharshana Yapa Bandula Basnayake Upali Piyasoma Amara Piyaseeli Ratnayake A. H. M. Alavi Jayadeva Chandrawansha Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Bandaranayake H. M. A. Loku Bandara Diunugallage Peter Wickramasinghe Jayasena Rajakaruna (2000 – 2001): Gamini Jayawickrama Perera Johnston Fernando S. B. Nawinne Jayarathna Herath Anura Priyadharshana Yapa Upali Piyasoma Salinda Dissanayake Rohitha Bogollagama Sarath Munasinghe Amara Piyaseeli Ratnayake Nimal Bandara Rathnayake Soma Kumari Tennakoon Ranjith Navaratne Munidasa Premachandra Nimal Herath (2001 – 2004): Gamini Jayawickrama Perera Johnston Fernando S. B. Nawinne Salinda Dissanayake Indika Bandaranayake Anura Priyadharshana Yapa Rohitha Bogollagama Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Bandaranayake Upali Piyasoma Amara Piyaseeli Ratnayake Anura Gopallawa Jayarathna Herath T. B. Ekanayake Soma Kumari Tennakoon Bimal Rathnayake (2004 – 2010): Anura Kumara Dissanayake Gamini Jayawickrama Perera Bimal Rathnayake M. D. Namal Karunaratne Johnston Fernando Akila Viraj Kariyawasam Anura Priyadharshana Yapa Indika Bandaranayake T. B. Ekanayake S. B. Nawinne Jayarathna Herath Dayasiri Jayasekara Salinda Dissanayake Bandula Basnayake Amara Piyaseeli Ratnayake Rohitha Bogollagama (2010 – 2015): Johnston Fernando Dayasiri Jayasekara T. B. Ekanayake Anura Priyadharshana Yapa K. W. Shantha Bandara S. B. Nawinne Akila Viraj Kariyawasam Jayarathna Herath Salinda Dissanayake Neranjan Wickremasinghe Indika Bandaranayake Tharanath Basnayaka Gamini Jayawickrama Perera Ashoka Abeysinghe Nimal Wijesinghe (2015 – Present): Mahinda Rajapaksa Akila Viraj Kariyawasam Dayasiri Jayasekara J. C. Alawathuwala Gamini Jayawickrama Perera T. B. Ekanayake Nalin Bandara Anura Priyadharshana Yapa S. B. Nawinne Johnston Fernando Ashoka Abeysinghe Thushara Indunil Salinda Dissanayake Indika Bandaranayake Tharanath Basnayaka