12 Facts About Hector Kobbekaduwa

Hector Senarath Rajakaruna Bandara Kobbekaduwa was a Sri Lankan politician and lawyer.

Hector Kobbekaduwa was the Sri Lanka Freedom Party candidate in the 1982 Sri Lankan presidential election and the Minister for Agriculture and Lands from 1970 to 1977.

Hector Kobbekaduwa is remembered for nationalizing privately owned land and restricting the ownership of private land to 20 hectares for the purpose of giving land to landless peasants.

Hector Kobbekaduwa created collectively owned settlement programs called Janawasas in some of the land that was acquired.

Hector Kobbekaduwa was born to a prominent family from Yatinuwara.

Hector Kobbekaduwa's father was Dr Tikiri Banda Kobbekaduwa, the first British qualified physician from Kandy and his mother was Sangamitta Dullewe Kumarihamy from Matale.

Hector Kobbekaduwa became a member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, when it was formed in 1952.

Hector Kobbekaduwa did not contest the July 1960 general election and following it he was appointed as Chairman of the Public Service Commission by Sirimavo Bandaranaike.

Hector Kobbekaduwa initiated the Agrarian Research and Training Centre in 1972 as well as the Land Reforms Commission and the State Plantations Corporation.

Hector Kobbekaduwa established Agricultural Productivity Centres at the village level.

The land reforms of the 1970s under Kobbekaduwa saw the nationalization of large extents of private land and vesting of these in public companies such as State Planation Corporation.

Hector Kobbekaduwa's tenure was marked with a major food shortage in the country, which resulted in the defeated of his party 1977 general elections in which he lost his seat in parliament.