Don Senanayake
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The Right Honourable D. S. Senanayake MP, PC |
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D. S. Senanayake
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| Prime Minister of Ceylon | |
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In office 24 September 1947 – 22 March 1952 |
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| Monarch |
George VI Elizabeth II |
| Preceded by | Post created |
| Succeeded by | Dudley Senanayake |
| Leader of the House | |
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In office 2 December 1942 – 4 July 1947 |
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| Preceded by | Don Baron Jayatilaka |
| Succeeded by | S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike |
| Minister of Agriculture and Lands | |
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In office 1942–1947 |
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| Preceded by | Post created |
| Succeeded by | Dudley Senanayake |
| Member of the Ceylon Parliament for Mirigama |
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In office 14 October 1947 – 22 March 1952 |
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| Preceded by | Constituency Created |
| Succeeded by | John Edmund Amaratunga |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
21 October 1883 Botale, Mirigama, British Ceylon |
| Died | 22 March 1952 (aged 68) Colombo, Dominion of Ceylon |
| Nationality | Ceylonese |
| Political party | United National Party |
| Spouse(s) | Molly Dunuwila |
| Religion | Buddhist |
Don Stephen Senanayake, PC (Sinhalese: දොන් ස්ටීවන් සේනානායක; 21 October 1883 – 22 March 1952) was the first Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. He emerged as the leader of the Sri Lankan independence movement that led to the establishment of self-rule in Sri Lanka. He served as Prime Minister from the formation of an independent nation in 1948 until he died in office in 1952. He is considered as the "Father of the Nation".
He was born in the village of Botale. He was the son of Mudaliyar Don Spater Senanayake (1847–1907) and Dona Catherina Elizabeth Perera Gunasekera Senanayake (1852–1949). He had two brothers, Don Charles "D. C." Senanayake and Fredric Richard "F. R." Senanayake; and one sister, Maria Frances Senanayake.
Brought up in a devout Buddhist family, he entered the prestigious Anglican school S. Thomas' College, Mutwal.
After completing schooling, he worked as a clerk in the Surveyor General's Department, but left to work as a planter on his father's rubber plantation.
The three Senanayake brothers were involved in the temperance movement formed in 1912. When World War I broke out in 1914 they joined the Colombo Town Guard. The brothers were imprisoned without charges during the 1915 riots and faced the prospect of execution since the British Governor Sir Robert Chalmers considered the temperance movement as seditious. Brutal suppression of the riots by the British initiated the modern independence movement led by the educated middle class. Don Stephen and Don Charles were prominent members of the political party Lanka Mahajana Sabha. Fredrick Richard and Don Charles were committed supporters of the Young Men's Buddhist Association. D. S. Senanayake played an active role in the independence movement, initially in support of his brother Fredrick Richard.
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