Deshamanya Sivagami Verina "Siva" Obeyesekere was the Cabinet Minister of Health and a Member of Parliament from Mirigama.
12 Facts About Siva Obeyesekere
1.
2.
Siva Obeyesekere is known as the founder of the Laksala and Lakpahana.
3.
Siva Obeyesekere married James Peter Obeyesekere III, the only child of Sir James Peter Obeyesekere II, Maha Mudaliyar.
4.
Siva Obeyesekere assisted her husband in his unsuccessful campaign for the Mirigama electorate in the 1952 general election and in the successful campaign for the Attanagalla electorate in the 1960 July general election.
5.
James Obeyesekere would serve as the Parliamentary Secretary of Health and Finance, thereafter he was appointed to the Senate of Ceylon in 1965.
6.
When James Obeyesekere was the member of parliament for Attanagalla from 1960 to 1965, Siva Obeyesekere organized community health programmes in 127 villages in the Attanagalle electorate and actively began to develop handicraft and handloom centres.
7.
Siva Obeyesekere established the Craftsman's Association of Sri Lanka promoting the Master Craftsman's Apprenticeship Scheme.
8.
Siva Obeyesekere contested the Mirigama electorate in the 1965 general election from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and won the seat defeating Wijayabahu Wijayasinha and entered parliament.
9.
Siva Obeyesekere retained her seat in the 1970 general election defeating Professor W S Karunaratne.
10.
Siva Obeyesekere was appointed Parliamentary Secretary of Health by Sirimavo Bandaranaike in 1970 and was promoted to Minister of Health in 1976 succeeding George Rajapaksa.
11.
Siva Obeyesekere was elected vice president of the World Health Organization Conference in Geneva in 1977.
12.
Siva Obeyesekere founded the Lakpahana, a private company that sold local handicrafts.