William Gopallawa (, ; 17 September 1896 – 31 January 1981) was a Sri Lankan politician and statesman who served as the last Governor-General of Ceylon from 1962 to 1972 and the first and only non-executive President of Sri Lanka from 1972 to 1978, when Ceylon declared itself a republic and changed its name to Sri Lanka.

Gopallawa served as Governor-General during the tenure of three different governments, two headed by Sirimavo Bandaranaike of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and one headed by Dudley Senanayake of the United National Party. Gopallawa has been described as a reformist.

Early life and education

William Gopallawa was born on 17 September 1896 at the Dullewe Maha Walauwa, Dullewe, Aluvihare, a suburb of Matale. He was related to Dullewe Dissava, a signatory on behalf of the Sinhalese to the Kandiyan Convention of 1815, by his mother Tikiri Kumarihamy Dullewe. His father, Tikiri Bandara Gopallawa, died when he was three years old.

Gopallawa received his primary education at the Dullewe village school and at St. John's College, Kandy. He continued his secondary education at Dharmaraja College, Kandy where he was a Scout and later moved to St. Anthony's College, Kandy.

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Honours

  • Member of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1953
  • LLD (Honoris Causa) from the University of Ceylon in 1962
  • LLD from the Vidyalankara in 1962
  • D.Litt. from the Vidyodaya in 1962

See also

  • List of political families in Sri Lanka
  • List of Sri Lankan non-career diplomats

References

  • A dignified symbol of the nation, Daily News on the 104th birth anniversary
  • William Gopallawa, the first president; the 31st anniversary of presidency
  • New York Times article on Death
  • First president of the Republic of Sri Lanka

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  • The Gopallawa Ancestry
  • William Gopallawa's presidential Flag on crwflags.com