I.M.R.A Iriyagolla was a Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

n politician.

Family

Born to a wealthy family in Iriyagolle in Katugampola, Iriyagolla was educated at Katugampola Village School, Ananda College

Ananda College

Ananda College , Colombo which is considered as the leading National school in Sri Lanka, was established on November 1, 1886, by the Buddhist Theosophical Society led by Colonel Henry Steel Olcott...

 Colombo and Nalanda College Colombo.

He has been an excellent student and gained admission to Ceylon Medical College

Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo

Established in 1870 as the Colombo Medical School, the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, is the second oldest medical school in South Asia.-History:...

 but left before completing studies. Later on he has worked in many fields such as Police Department, as a journalist and editor of a Sinhala Newspaper.

In 1947, he contested Dandagamuwa electrorate and entered parliament as an Independent candidate. In 1956 when the late S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike formed the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna

Mahajana Eksath Peramuna

The Mahajana Eksath Peramuna is a left-wing political party in Sri Lanka. Today the party is led by Dinesh Gunawardena, son of Philip Gunawardena....

 he was one of the signatories. In 1960 he joined United National Party

United National Party

The United National Party, often referred to as the UNP ), , is a political party in Sri Lanka. It currently is the main opposition party in Sri Lanka and is headed by Ranil Wickremesinghe...

 and was appointed as Cabinet Minister of Education and Cultural Affairs by Dudley Senanayake

Dudley Senanayake

Dudley Shelton Senanayake was a Ceylonese politician, who became the second Prime Minister of Ceylon and went on to become prime minister on 2 more times during the 1950s and 1960s.-Early life:Dudley was born on 19 June, 1911 as the eldest son to Molly Dunuwila and Don Stephen Senanayake, who...

 when UNP won elections in 1965.

During his era Education Department was drastically altered to suit the needs of the country. As a result under his supervision D.S. Senanayake College Colombo was established. He also introduced agriculture as a subject to school curriculum.

Equally proficient in both Sinhala and English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 and as an erudite author and a person involved in the arts and culture, some songs like "Loken Uthum Rata Lankavai" and "Sema Danamana Dinu Sujathadarani" written by him are considered masterpieces in Sinhala music even today. He also translated Victor Hugo

Victor Hugo

Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....

’s Les Misérables

Les Misérables

Les Misérables , translated variously from the French as The Miserable Ones, The Wretched, The Poor Ones, The Wretched Poor, or The Victims), is an 1862 French novel by author Victor Hugo and is widely considered one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century...

from French into Sinhala as Manuthapaya which became quite popular among readers.