State Council of Ceylon
Encyclopedia
The State Council of Ceylon was the unicameral
legislature
for Ceylon
(now Sri Lanka
), established in 1931 by the Donoughmore Constitution
. The State Council gave universal adult franchise
to the people of the colony for the first time. It replaced the Legislative Council of Ceylon
, the colony's original legislative body.
There were only two State Councils: the First, elected in 1931
, and the Second, elected in 1936
. The 1947 Soulbury Constitution replaced the State Council with the Parliament of Ceylon
, as part of a process of constitutional development leading up to independence, which took place on 4 February 1948.
was established by the British authorities under the chairmanship of the Earl of Donoughmore
. The Donoughmore Commission arrived in the colony in 1927, before returning to the United Kingdom where it issued its report. The Commission proposed reforms which were implemented as the so-called Donoughmore Constitution
, resulting in the abolution of the Legislative Council of Ceylon
as the colony's legislature, and its replacement by a "State Council" in 1931.
The structure and working of the State Council was experimental, and was based in part on the United Kingdom's London County Council
. The State Council functioned in both an executive and legislative capacity, with seven committees performing executive duties. Each committee consisted of designated members of the State Council, and was chaired by an elected Ceylonese who was addressed as minister. The Ceylonese ministers formed a board of ministers with three British officials of ministerial rank who handled defence, external affairs, finance, and judicial matters.
The Donoughmore Constitution was not considered a great success, and this combined with Ceylonese demands for further constitutional reform led to a new commission being established, under the chairmanship of Lord Soulbury
, which arrived in Ceylon in 1944. Based on the report by the Soulbury Commission
, a new constitution was created, by which the State Council was replaced by a Parliament
, elections for which were conducted in 1947. Negotiations with Ceylon's newly elected government resulted in the British granting Ceylon independence as a dominion
in 1948.
Unicameralism
In government, unicameralism is the practice of having one legislative or parliamentary chamber. Thus, a unicameral parliament or unicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of one chamber or house...
legislature
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
for Ceylon
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...
(now 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...
), established in 1931 by the Donoughmore Constitution
Donoughmore Constitution
The Donoughmore Constitution, created by the Donoughmore Commission, served Sri Lanka from 1931 to 1947 when it was replaced by the Soulbury Constitution....
. The State Council gave universal adult franchise
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...
to the people of the colony for the first time. It replaced 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...
, the colony's original legislative body.
There were only two State Councils: the First, elected in 1931
Ceylonese State Council election, 1931
The first election to the State Council of Ceylon were held from 13 to 20 June 1931. This was the first election in a British colony which used universal adult franchise.-Background:...
, and the Second, elected in 1936
Ceylonese State Council election, 1936
The second election to the State Council of Ceylon was held from 22 February to 7 March 1936.-Background:The first State Council was dissolved on 7 December 1935 and candidate nominations took place on 15 January 1936. Seven constituencies only had a single nomination each and consequently the...
. The 1947 Soulbury Constitution replaced the State Council with the Parliament of Ceylon
Parliament of Ceylon
The Parliament of Ceylon was the legislative body of Ceylon established in 1947 by the Soulbury Constitution, prior to independence on 4 February 1948...
, as part of a process of constitutional development leading up to independence, which took place on 4 February 1948.
History
Due to Ceylonese demands for constitutional reform, a royal commissionRoyal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
was established by the British authorities under the chairmanship of the Earl of Donoughmore
Earl of Donoughmore
Earl of Donoughmore is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1800 for Richard Hely-Hutchinson, 1st Viscount Donoughmore, with remainder to the heirs male of his mother. He was a General in the British Army and sat in the House of Lords as one of the 28 original Irish Representative...
. The Donoughmore Commission arrived in the colony in 1927, before returning to the United Kingdom where it issued its report. The Commission proposed reforms which were implemented as the so-called Donoughmore Constitution
Donoughmore Constitution
The Donoughmore Constitution, created by the Donoughmore Commission, served Sri Lanka from 1931 to 1947 when it was replaced by the Soulbury Constitution....
, resulting in the abolution of 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...
as the colony's legislature, and its replacement by a "State Council" in 1931.
The structure and working of the State Council was experimental, and was based in part on the United Kingdom's London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
. The State Council functioned in both an executive and legislative capacity, with seven committees performing executive duties. Each committee consisted of designated members of the State Council, and was chaired by an elected Ceylonese who was addressed as minister. The Ceylonese ministers formed a board of ministers with three British officials of ministerial rank who handled defence, external affairs, finance, and judicial matters.
The Donoughmore Constitution was not considered a great success, and this combined with Ceylonese demands for further constitutional reform led to a new commission being established, under the chairmanship of Lord Soulbury
Herwald Ramsbotham, 1st Viscount Soulbury
Herwald Ramsbotham, 1st Viscount Soulbury GCMG, GCVO, OBE, MC, PC was a British Conservative politician. He was a government minister between 1931 and 1941 and served as Governor-General of Ceylon between 1949 and 1954....
, which arrived in Ceylon in 1944. Based on the report by the Soulbury Commission
Soulbury Commission
The Soulbury Commission, announced in 1944 was, like its predecessor, the Donoughmore Commission, a prime instrument of constitutional reform in Sri Lanka. The immediate basis for the appointment of a commission for constitutional reforms was the 1944 draft constitution of the Board of Ministers,...
, a new constitution was created, by which the State Council was replaced by a Parliament
Parliament of Ceylon
The Parliament of Ceylon was the legislative body of Ceylon established in 1947 by the Soulbury Constitution, prior to independence on 4 February 1948...
, elections for which were conducted in 1947. Negotiations with Ceylon's newly elected government resulted in the British granting Ceylon independence as a dominion
Dominion
A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities that were nominally under British sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, beginning in the latter part of the 19th century. They have included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland,...
in 1948.
Membership
The State Council consisted of 58 members, of whom 50 would be elected by universal suffrage, with the remaining 8 members appointed by the Governor.Speakers of the State Council
- Sir Alfred Francis MolamureAlfred Francis MolamureSir Alfred Francis Molamure, commonly known as A. F. Molamure, was a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka and also the first speaker of the Parliament. The first parliament, known as the First State Council, was ceremonially opened on 10 July 1931, and Molamure was elected as the speaker three...
(1931-34) - Sir Forester Augustus ObeysekeraForester Augustus ObeysekeraSir Forester Augustus Obeysekera was a prominent colonial era legislator from Ceylon. He was the Speaker of the State Council of Ceylon and a member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon....
(1934-35) - Sir Waitialingm Duraiswamy (1936-47)
Leaders of the House
- Sir Don Baron JayatilakaDon Baron JayatilakaSir Don Baron Jayatilaka was a Sri Lankan educationalist, politician and diplomat....
(1931-42) - Don Stephen SenanayakeDon Stephen SenanayakeDon Stephen Senanayake was an independence activist who served as the first Prime Minister of Ceylon from 1947 to 1952.-Early life:...
(1942-47)
Ministers of the State Council
- Sir Don Baron JayatilakaDon Baron JayatilakaSir Don Baron Jayatilaka was a Sri Lankan educationalist, politician and diplomat....
, Home Affairs (1931-42) - Don Stephen SenanayakeDon Stephen SenanayakeDon Stephen Senanayake was an independence activist who served as the first Prime Minister of Ceylon from 1947 to 1952.-Early life:...
, Agriculture and Lands (1931-46) - Sir Tikiri Bandara PanabokkeTikiri Bandara PanabokkeSir Tikiri Bandara Panabokke Adigar was a Ceylonese, prominent colonial era legislator, lawyer and diplomat. He was the first Minister of Health in the State Council and second representative of the Government of Ceylon to India.-Early life and education:Born Walala, Patha Dumbara on 28 March...
, Health (1931-31) - C. W. W. Kannangara, Education (1931-47)
- Charles Batuwantudawe, Local Administration (1931-36)
- Sir Mohamed Macan Markar, Communications and Works (1931-36)
- Peri Sundaram, Labour, Industry and Commerce (1931-36)
- Sir Arunachalam Mahadeva, Home Affairs (1942-46)
- Sir John KotelawalaJohn KotelawalaGeneral Sir John Lionel Kotelawala, KBE, CH, KStJ, CLI was a Sri Lankan soldier and politician, most notable for serving as the 3rd Prime Minister of Ceylon from 1953 to 1956....
, Communications and Works (1936-45) - S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, Local Administration (1936-46)
- Sir Claude CoreaClaude CoreaSir George Claude Stanley Corea was a Sri Lankan politician and diplomat.-Family background:He was born on 29 January 1894 to a well known Ceylonese political family hailing from the Western seaboard town of Chilaw. His father was Alfred Winzer Corea who was an officer in government police and his...
, Labour, Industry and Commerce (1936-46) - W. A. de Silva, Health (1936-46)
- Dudley SenanayakeDudley SenanayakeDudley 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...
, Agriculture and Lands (1946-47)
Other State Councillors
- P. B. Bulankulame
- Wijeyananda DahanayakeWijeyananda DahanayakeWijeyananda Dahanayake was a Sri Lankan political figure. He was the Prime Minister of Ceylon from 1959 to 1960.-Early Life:...
- Sir Susantha de FonsekaSusantha de FonsekaSir Kalutaravedage Deepal Susantha de Fonseka, KBE was a Sri Lankan statesmen and diplomat. He was the Deputy Speaker of the State Council of Ceylon and following Ceylon's independence from Britain her first Ambassador to Burma and first Ambassador to Japan.-Early life and education:He was born to...
- Francis de ZoysaFrancis de ZoysaSir Francis de Zoysa, KC was a Ceylonese lawyer and statesmen. He was an Advocate and one of the first state counsels and was the President of the Ceylon National Congress....
- Sir Razik FareedRazik FareedSir Razik Fareed, OBE, JP , was a Ceylonese lawyer, politician, diplomat and philanthropist. He was the former Cabinet Minister of Trade, Senator, member of parliament and the state council...
, appointed (1936-47) - A. E. GoonesinhaA. E. GoonesinhaAlexander Ekanayake Goonesinha was a pioneering trade union leader known as the "Father of the Labour Movement" in Sri Lanka. He was the founder of the Ceylon Labor Party, Sri Lanka's first labor organization and was the First Ceylonese Mayor of Colombo. A. E...
- Philip GunawardenaPhilip GunawardenaDon Philip Rupasinghe Gunawardena introduced Trotskyism to Sri Lanka, where he is a national hero, known as 'the Father of Socialism' and as 'the Lion of Boralugoda'.-Early life & education:...
- K. Natesa IyerK. Natesa IyerKothandarama Natesa Iyer or S. K. Natesa Iyer was a Sri Lankan journalist, trade union leader and politician of Indian Tamil origin, had pioneered the labour movement in the plantations in the early 1930s.-Early life:...
- Tuan Burhanudeen JayahTuan Burhanudeen JayahDr.Tuan Burhanuddin Jayah was born in Galagedara on 01st of January 1890. was a Sri Lankan educationalist, politician, and diplomat. He studied at St. Paul's College, Kandy and St Thomas' College Mt. Lavinia and received his degree from the University of London in 1913 and joined Dharmaraja...
, appointed (1936-47) - A. P. JayasuriyaA. P. JayasuriyaA. P. Jayasuriya was Sri Lankan politician. He was a former Cabinet Minister of Health, Senator & Member of Parliament. He was one of the founders of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party ....
- Colonel Theodore Godfrey Wijesinghe JayewardeneTheodore Godfrey Wijesinghe JayewardeneColonel Theodore Godfrey Wijesinghe Jayewardene, JP, CLI was a Ceylonese engineer, politician and military officer...
- Subaiya NadesanSubaiya NadesanSubaiya Nadesapillai also known as S. Nadesan was the son-in-law of Ponnambalam Ramanathan and a Tamil senator from Jaffna, Sri Lanka. He was a United National Party candidate and defeated Samuel Chelvanayakam in the 1952 Jaffna elections, after losing to him in the 1947 elections from...
- V. Nalliah
- E. A. NugawelaE. A. NugawelaMajor E. A. Nugawela, CLI was a Sri Lankan politician. He was the first Cabinet Minister of Education in independent Sri Lanka , later Cabinet Minister of Health , a Member of Parliament & State Council. He is noted for the educational reforms and expansion of the number of state schools during...
- Donald ObeyesekereDonald ObeyesekereDonald Obeyesekere was a prominent colonial era legislator from Ceylon. He was a member of the State Council of Ceylon, the Legislative Council of Ceylon and was the President of the National Olympic Committee of Ceylon....
- Theodore Braybrooke PanabokkeTheodore Braybrooke PanabokkeTheodore Braybrooke Panabokke was Sri Lankan politician, lawyer and diplomat. He was a former Deputy Minister of Justice & Agriculture, Member of Parliament and Ceylon's High Commissioner to India. He was the Chancellor of the University of Peradeniya.Born to Adigar Sir Tikiri Bandara Panabokke...
- E. W. PereraE. W. PereraEdward Walter Perera was a Ceylonese barrister, politician and freedom fighter. He was known as the 'Lion of Kotte' and was a prominent figure in the Sri Lankan independence movement and a Senator....
- G. K. W. Perera
- N. M. PereraN. M. PereraNanayakkarapathirage Martin Perera, better known as Dr. N. M. Perera, was one of the leaders of the Sri Lankan Trotskyist Lanka Sama Samaja Party...
- G. G. PonnambalamG. G. PonnambalamGanapathipillai Gangaser Ponnambalam , known as G.G. Ponnambalam, was a Sri Lankan Tamil politician in British Ceylon, and then after independence, in Ceylon. He founded the first Sri Lankan Tamil political party, the All Ceylon Tamil Congress. Ponnambalam stood for the principle of minority...
- D. M. Rajapaksa
- Abeyratne Ratnayaka
- Muhammad Khalid Saldin, appointed (1931-35)
- Edwin Wijeyeratne (1931 - 36)
- Harris Leuke Ratwatte (1936 - 47)
- S. A. Wickremasinghe