William Gopallawa
William Gopallawa (17 September 1897 - 31 January 1981) was the first President of Sri Lanka. He was the last Governor-General of Ceylon from 1962 to 1972 before independence from the United Kingdom. Gopallawa was the 1st President of Sri Lanka from 1972 to1978. After his presidency, the next president was J. R. Jayewardene. [1]
William Gopallawa | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 17, 1897 Matale, Sri Lanka |
| Died | January 31, 1981 Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Occupation(s) | President of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), General of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) |
| Spouse | Seelawathie Gopallawa |
| Children | Five |
He represented an era where politics was conducted with a dignified aura and he had a reputation as being a man of integrity and humility. He served as Governor-General during different governments headed by the SLFP led regime of Sirimavo Bandaranaike and the United National Party led regime of Dudley Senanayake. He upheld the law and the constitution to the letter and won respect and admiration of all political parties. William Gopallawa was born on 17 September 1897 at the Dullewe Maha Walauwa, Dullewe in the Matale District of Ceylon. He is related to Dullewe Dissava, a signatory on behalf of the Sinhalese to the Kandiyan Convention of 1815
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