1. Senerat Gunewardene was the first Minister without Portfolio, member of parliament and member of the State Council for Gampola, before serving in several top diplomatic posts such as Ceylon's Ambassador to Italy, Ceylon's Ambassador to the United States, where he was appointed concurrently as Ceylon's first Permanent Representative to United Nations and Ceylon's High Commissioner to United Kingdom.
Senerat Gunewardene's father Don Bentis Serasinghe Gunewardene was an ayurvedic practitioner, he was the eldest in a family of three brothers and one sister.
Senerat Gunewardene had to leave school before completing his schooling due to the death of his father.
Senerat Gunewardene thereafter earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of London as an external student and joined the teaching staff of Royal College Colombo.
Senerat Gunewardene started following the advocate's course at the Ceylon Law College and passed his advocate's finals in 1926.
Senerat Gunewardene was admitted to the bar as an Advocate in 1927.
Senerat Gunewardene was a founder member and President of the All-Ceylon Buddhist Congress and was a member of the first board of management of the Colombo Young men's Buddhist Association.
Senerat Gunewardene then contested the Gampola seat just two weeks prior to and lost to T B Panabokke.
Senerat Gunewardene was elected to the first parliament in the 1947 general election from Gampola.
Senerat Gunewardene was then appointed Ceylon's Ambassador to the United States, serving from March 1954 to August 1961.
When Ceylon became a member of the United Nations in 1955, Senerat Gunewardene was appointed concurrently as the first Permanent Representative to United Nations, serving until 1958.
Senerat Gunewardene married his wife Sumana Pemi Gunewardene, a close relative on 10 June 1927, they had three children.