Ceylonese politician (1912–2013)
Dayasena Turnolius Pasqual (9 June 1912 - 22 May 2013) was a Ceylonese politician.[ 1] [ 2] He represented the Matugama electorate in Parliament for 21 consecutive years from 1956 to 1977.
Pasqual was born in Uragoda (a small remote village), the eldest of thirteen children.[ 3] He attended Ananda Sastralaya, Kotte ,[ 3] [ 4] and Ananda College , Colombo[ 5]
Once he graduated from high school he went on to teach at Ananda Shastralaya[ 6] He founded Ananda Sastralaya, Matugama in February 1942.[ 6] [ 4]
In 1943 he was elected to the Horawala - Dodango - Matugama Village Council and subsequently its chairman in 1944.[ 6]
Pasqual ran as the Sri Lanka Freedom Party candidate in the Matugama electorate , at the 3rd parliamentary election held between 5 April 1956 and 10 April 1956. He polled the second highest margin at the election,[ 6] receiving 25,798 votes (70.7% of the total vote), 19,609 votes ahead of the United National Party candidate, A. C. Gooneratne.[ 7]
In 1957 he was appointed the General Manager of the B.T.S. Schools, a position he held for a year until 1958.
In September 1959 he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance in the Dahanayake cabinet , until March 1960.[ 4] He was re-elected at the 4th parliamentary election , held on 19 March 1960, polling 7,099 votes (28.6% of the total vote).[ 8] At the subsequent 5th parliamentary election , held on 20 July 1960, he retained his seat, receiving 14,790 votes (61.8% of the total votes).[ 9]
Following the election he was appointed the Deputy Minister of Local Government and Housing in the First Sirimavo Bandaranaike cabinet , serving from July 1960 until March 1965.[ 4] [ 10] At the 6th parliamentary election , held on 22 March 1965, he was re-elected, polling 18,122 votes (56.2% of the total vote).[ 11]
At the 7th parliamentary election held on 27 May 1970, he was re-elected, receiving 24,718 votes (63.7% of the total vote) and 10,720 votes ahead of his nearest rival.[ 12] In 1975 he was appointed Deputy Minister of Justice in the Second Sirimavo Bandaranaike cabinet .[ 4]
In July 1977, at the 8th parliamentary election , he was unable to retain the seat for a sixth term, as he was defeated by the United National Party candidate, Reginald V. Wijegunaratne . Wijegunaratne receiving 25,484 votes (55.1% of the total vote) to Pasqual's 10,497 votes (22.7% of the total vote).[ 13]
The Matugama electoral district was replaced by the Kalutara multi-member electoral district at the 1989 general elections , and Pasqual at the age of 77 chose not to run.
In September 2010 he received the Neela Udara Award from President Mahinda Rajapaksa . Pasqual died 22 May 2013, at the age of 100.
References
^ "Hon. Pasqual, Dayasena Turnolius, M.P." Parliament of Sri Lanka . Retrieved 19 July 2018 .
^ "Members of the legislatures of Ceylon, 1931-1972". National State Assembly Library. 1972.
^ a b Premalal, K. K. D. (10 June 2012). "Centenarian Pasqual reveals secret of longevity" . Sunday Observer . Retrieved 30 July 2018 .
^ a b c d e "Former Matugama MP dies" . The Island . 21 May 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2018 .
^ "Parliament of Ceylon, 1970". Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited. 1970: 66.
^ a b c d Karavita, Bandu (9 June 2012). "One Hundred and One - Not Out" . Daily Mirror . Retrieved 30 July 2018 .
^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1956" (PDF) . Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2018 .
^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election March 1960" (PDF) . Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 July 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2018 .
^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election July 1960" (PDF) . Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2018 .
^ "Parliamentary Debates, Volume 19, Issues 1-15". Parliament of Ceylon. 1964: iii.
^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1965" (PDF) . Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2018 .
^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1970" (PDF) . Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 21 August 2018 .[permanent dead link ]
^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1977" (PDF) . Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 21 August 2018 .[permanent dead link ]