Chandradasa Wijesinghe
Senator Chandrasena Sarath Wijesinghe OBE was a Sri Lankan politician and businessman. He was the President of the Senate and a Cabinet Minister.[1]
Born to Muhandiram D. F. Wijesinghe and Mrs. S. L. Goonatillake Wijesinghe, who were wealthy plantain and graphite mine owners from Kamburupitiya. Wijesinghe was educated at the Royal College, Colombo and became a planter, managing his estate group of companies which included estates in many districts including the Andapana Estate in Kamburupitiya. He was Chairman of several companies including Ceylon Glass Company and Ceylon Chocolates Ltd. He built Andapana Hospital and later handed over to the government.
He unsuccessfully contested the Akuressa Electoral District in the 1952 general election from the United National Party. In 1956, he was appointed to the Senate of Ceylon and served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance from April 1956 to September 1958 in the S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike government, then he was appointed Cabinet Minister of Nationalised Services from September 1958 to December 1959. From July 1960 to 1962 he served as Minister of Labour and Nationalised Services. From 1960 to 1965, he served as the President of the Senate.