Henry Woodward Amarasuriya
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The Honourable Henry Woodward Amarasuriya |
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| Minister of Trade & Commerce | |
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In office 14 December 1948 – 22 March 1952 |
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| Prime Minister | D. S. Senanayake |
| Preceded by | C. Suntharalingam |
| Succeeded by | R. G. Senanayake |
| Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Ceylon | |
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In office 02 September 1948 – 14 December 1948 |
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| Preceded by | R. A. de Mel |
| Succeeded by | Sir Albert F. Peries |
| Member of the Ceylon State Council for Udugama | |
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In office 1931–1935 |
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| Member of the Ceylon State Council for Galle | |
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In office 1936–1947 |
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| Preceded by | C. W. W. Kannangara |
| Member of the Ceylon Parliament for Baddegama |
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In office 14 June 1948 – 30 May 1952 |
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| Preceded by | Simon Abeywickrama |
| Succeeded by | Henry Abeywickrama |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 October 1904 Unawatuna, Galle |
| Died | 6 March 1981 (aged 76) Galle |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Political party |
United National Party Ceylon National Congress Lanka Mahajana Sabha |
| Spouse(s) | Eileen Rachel Perera |
| Children | Mahiman, Rukmani, Indrani, Priyani, Geethanjali |
| Alma mater | Mahinda College, Galle |
| Occupation | Politics, Diplomat |
| Profession | Planter, Proprietor |
| Religion | Theravada Buddhism |
Henry Woodward Amarasuriya (14 October 1904 – 6 March 1981) was a Ceylonese politician, educationist, landed proprietor and philanthropist. He was the minister for trade and commerce in the cabinet of D. S. Senanayake. A former member of the Ceylon state council, H. W. Amarasuriya was a founding member and the first general secretary of the United National Party. He also held the position of Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees in the first parliament of Ceylon. A member of the first Education Executive Committee of the state council and a former general manager of the Buddhist schools, he did a great service to improve the education in Ceylon.
H .W. Amarasuriya was born on 14 October 1904 to the wealthy Amarasuriya family in Unawatuna, Galle. His father Henry Mahendrapala Amarasuriya was a proprietor, shipping merchant and an independence activist. His mother was Caroline de Silva. Both his grand fathers Muhandiram Thomas de Silva Amarasuriya and Juanis de Silva were wealthy businessman of Galle. Eldest boy and the second of the family of seven children, he had three younger brothers; Thomas Amarasuriya, Francis and Buddhadasa Amarasuriya and three sisters Susima, Irene and Amara. Young Henry Woodward attended Mahinda College, Galle for his education and did well in both his studies and sports. He captained the college cricket team in 1923 and was also a member of the college soccer team. With the early demise of his father, Henry Woodward took over the management of his fathers’ estates and the affairs of the family, after completing his school education.
As a planter Henry Woodward Amarasuriya increased the extent of his fathers’ estates and their production largely and concentrated heavily on tea, rubber and coconut. He completed the Olympus Group tea factory started by his father. During this time he also developed a keen interest in development of local education and soon became the manager of the Buddhist Education Society of Galle. With the management of a large group of estates and Buddhist schools he joined the main political stream by joining the Ceylon National Congress (CNC) in which he served as the president from 1936 to 1938. He was elected to the Ceylon State Council for the first time in 1931 as the member for Udugama constituency. Then he served as the elected member of Galle constituency of the Ceylon State Council from 1936 to 1947. In 1942 he served in the Executive Committee of Education in the State Council alongside C. W. W. Kannangara in bringing about free education.
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