Donald Obeyesekere was a prominent colonial

British Ceylon

British Ceylon refers to British rule prior to 1948 of the island territory now known as Sri Lanka.-From the Dutch to the British:Before the beginning of the Dutch governance, the island of Ceylon was divided between the Portuguese Empire and the Kingdom of Kandy, who were in the midst of a war for...

 era legislator from Ceylon. He was a member of the State Council of Ceylon

State Council of Ceylon

The State Council of Ceylon was the unicameral legislature for Ceylon , established in 1931 by the Donoughmore Constitution. The State Council gave universal adult franchise to the people of the colony for the first time...

, the Legislative Council of Ceylon

Legislative Council of Ceylon

The Legislative Council of Ceylon was the legislative body of Ceylon established in 1833, along with the Executive Council of Ceylon, on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission. It was the first form of representative government in the island...

 and was the President of the National Olympic Committee of Ceylon

National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka

National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka is the National Olympic Committee representing Sri Lanka.- External links :*...

.

Educated at S. Thomas' College, Mt Lavinia and at the Colombo Academy, he gained a BA from University of Cambridge

University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...

, where he won blues for boxing. On his return to Ceylon he introduced boxing in the country.

He married Johanna Ethel Perera and they had five children; Danton, Corneliya, Asoka, Fredrick, Amelia and Alexander. The Donald Obeysekera Prize is awarded at Royal College, Colombo in his memory.