Tikiri Banda Subasinghe

Subasinghe Mudiyanselage Tikiri Banda Subasinghe (14 August 1913 – 10 August 1995) was a Sri Lankan statesman. He was the 7th Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan Ambassador to the Soviet Union^[1][2] He also served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Defence and External Affairs and Minister of Industries and Scientific Affairs.^[3]

Hon. Tikiri Banda Subasinghe
Minister of Industries and Scientific Affairs
In office May 1970 – 1 March 1977
Prime Minister	Sirimavo Bandaranaike
Preceded by	Philip Gunawardena
Succeeded by	Cyril Mathew
2nd Sri Lankan Ambassador to the Soviet Union
In office 1961–1965
Prime Minister	Sirimavo Bandaranaike
Preceded by	Gunapala Piyasena Malalasekera
Succeeded by	B. F. Perera
7th Speaker of the Parliament
In office 30 March 1960 – 23 April 1960
Prime Minister	Dudley Senanayake
Preceded by	Hameed Hussain Sheikh Ismail
Succeeded by	R. S. Pelpola
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Defence and External Affairs
In office 1956–1959
Prime Minister	S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike
Preceded by	V Nalliah
Succeeded by	Felix R D Bandaranaike
Member of the Ceylonese Parliament for Bingiriya
In office 1947 – July 1960
Succeeded by	Leelananda Weerasinghe
Member of the Ceylonese Parliament for Katugampola
In office 1965–1977
Preceded by	Leelananda Weerasinghe
Succeeded by	Gamini Jayawickrama Perera
Personal details
Born	14 August 1913 British Ceylon
Died	10 August 1995
Political party	Sri Lanka Freedom Party (1965–1977)
Other political affiliations	Lanka Sama Samaja Party (–1955) Independent Socialist Party (1955-1959) United National Party (1959) Independent (1960-1965)
Spouse	Lolita
Children	Swineetha, Sarojini
Residence(s)	Kirula Road, Narahenpita
Alma mater	Ananda College[citation needed]

Life

While studying at the London School of Economics, Subasinghe attended the 5th Pan-African Congress, held in Manchester in October 1945,^[4] and helped to organize the All-Colonial Peoples' Conferences held in London around the same time.^[5] A founding member of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), Subasinghe entered parliament contesting the Bingiriya seat at the 1947 Parliamentary general elections.

With the 1956 general elections, he was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of External Affairs and Defence in the S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike cabinet.^[1][3] In 1960, he was unanimously elected Speaker of Parliament following the general elections in the short lived UNP led coalition government defeating veteran Speaker Sir. Albert F. Peiris both of whom represented from North Western Province.

Subasinghe was a prominent figure in the Suriya-Mal Movement which became the springboard for the Marxist and anti-imperialist movements in the country. He had two brothers (Vincent and Tudor Subasinghe) and two sisters.^[1]

See also

• Sri Lankan Non Career Diplomats
• Tikiri Banda Subasinghe

References

1. "T.B. Subasinghe commemoration". Dailynews.lk. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
2. Rupasinghe, Winston. "Revisiting our Russian friends". Sundayobserver.lk. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
3. "SUBASINGHE, Tikiri Banda (1913-1995), research papers on". AIM25. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
4. Christian Høgsbjerg, Remembering the Fifth Pan-African Congress, African Studies Bulletin, No 77 (Winter 2015/16), pp. 119–139.
5. Marika Sherwood, The All Colonial Peoples Conferences in Britain, 1945, African Studies Bulletin, No. 79 (Winter 2017/18), pp. 113–24.

External links

• Subasinghe, Subasinghe Mudiyanselage Tikiri Banda
• Speaker of the Parliament

Political offices
Preceded by Hameed Hussain Sheikh Ismail	Speaker of the Parliament 1960	Succeeded by R. S. Pelpola
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Gunapala Piyasena Malalasekera	Sri Lankan Ambassador to the Soviet Union 1961–1965	Succeeded by B. F. Perera