Gunapala Piyasena Malalasekera
| Gunapala Piyasena Malalasekera ගුණපාල මලලසේකර |
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| Born | 8 November 1899 Malamulla, Panadura |
| Died | 23 April 1973 (aged 73) Colombo |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Alma mater | St. John's College Panadura, University of London |
| Occupation | Academic, diplomat |
Gunapala Piyasena Malalasekera, OBE, JP (Sinhala: ගුණපාල මලලසේකර) (8 November 1899 – 23 April 1973) was a Sri Lankan academic, scholar and diplomat. He was the Ceylon's first Ambassador to the Soviet Union, Ceylon's High Commissioner to Canada, the United Kingdom and Ceylon's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. He was the Professor Emeritus in Pali and Dean of the Faculty of Oriental Studies.
Born on 9 November 1899 at Malamulla, Panadura as George Pieris Malalasekera, his father was a well-known Ayurvedic (native medicine) physician, Ayur. Dr. M. S. Pieris Malalasekera.
Malalasekera was educated at St. John's College Panadura, (now the St. John's College National School). It was a leading school in the English medium in Panadura under the head master Cyril Jansz, a reputed educationist of the colonial era. After receiving his education in that school from 1907–17, he joined the Ceylon Medical College, Colombo to qualify as a doctor with a Licentiate in Medicine and Surgery (LMS).
The death of his father cut short his medical studies. Circumstances compelled him to give up his hopes of becoming a medical doctor. By following a correspondence course from England, he gained a BA from the University of London External System, 1919 with a first division. His subjects were English, Latin, Greek and French. He was the youngest candidate to obtain the Bachelor of Arts degree in the British Empire in that year with a first class.
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