William Gopallawa was a Sri Lankan politician and statesman who served as the last Governor-General of Ceylon from 1962 to 1972 and the first and only non-executive President of Sri Lanka from 1972 to 1978, when Ceylon declared itself a republic and changed its name to Sri Lanka.
23 Facts About William Gopallawa
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William Gopallawa was born on 17 September 1896 at the Dullewe Maha Walauwa, Dullewe, Aluvihare, a suburb of Matale.
3.
William Gopallawa was related to Dullewe Dissava, a signatory on behalf of the Sinhalese to the Kandiyan Convention of 1815, by his mother Tikiri Kumarihamy Dullewe.
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William Gopallawa received his primary education at the Dullewe village school and at St John's College, Kandy.
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William Gopallawa continued his secondary education at Dharmaraja College, Kandy where he was a Scout and later moved to St Anthony's College, Kandy.
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In 1920, William Gopallawa joined the Ceylon Law College, Colombo and was enrolled as a Proctor and Notary Public in 1924.
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William Gopallawa started his legal practice as a junior to Bernard Aluwihare in the unofficial bar of Kandy and went on to develop a practice in Matale, Dumbara and Kandy from 1924 until he took up duties as Municipal Commissioner, Kandy in 1939.
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William Gopallawa continued his practice on and off until he became the Municipal Commissioner of Colombo Municipal Council.
9.
In 1926, William Gopallawa contested and won in the Matale Urban Council Elections and served continuously in the council for a period of 13 years from 1926 to 1939.
10.
William Gopallawa served as the chairman of the Matale Urban Council for 5 years, at his office he was the youngest Urban Council Chairman in Ceylon at that time.
11.
In 1936, William Gopallawa unsuccessfully contested for the Matale seat at the State Council Elections in 1936.
12.
In 1939, the Kandy Municipal Council was established and William Gopallawa was appointed as the first Municipal Commissioner of Kandy.
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William Gopallawa served in that capacity throughout World War II and acquitted himself for efficiency during the great floods in 1950.
14.
William Gopallawa was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 1953 Coronation Honours.
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William Gopallawa was the second native Ceylonese Governor-General and the first Buddhist to hold the post as the viceregal representative of Queen Elizabeth II who was the head of state.
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William Gopallawa served in this capacity until 1972, when he became the first President of Sri Lanka.
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When Ceylon became the Republic of Sri Lanka on 22 May 1972, William Gopallawa became the first president.
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William Gopallawa stepped down from office in February 1978 when then Prime Minister Junius Richard Jayewardene became president following constitutional changes that effected the creation of an executive presidency.
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William Gopallawa was the first to establish a spartan Buddhist shrine room at the President's House.
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On 8 March 1928, William Gopallawa married Seelawathie Rambukwella; they had 5 children.
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William Gopallawa was survived by 4 children out of 5.
22.
William Gopallawa's oldest son Asoka is an entrepreneur businessman, William Gopallawa's second daughter Chinthamani, was a teacher and landed proprietor, and his youngest son Monty Gopallawa who died in 2005, was a member of parliament and an affable cabinet minister in the government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga.
23.
William Gopallawa had 13 grandchildren; Chandhaka, Dhammika, Mano, Anushka, Devika, Avanthi, Sureka, Lehka, Shiranthani, Ashani, Mahen, Shanika and Dilani, and 1 known great-great-grandchild, named Vonal Gopallawa.