D. S. Senanayake

Don Stephen Senanayake (Sinhala: දොන් ස්ටීවන් සේනානායක; 20 October 1884 – 22 March 1952) was an independence activist. He was the first Prime Minister of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) from 1947 to 1952.


D. S. Senanayake
Official Photographic Portrait of Don Stephen Senanayaka (1884-1952).jpg
D.S. Senanayake
Prime Minister of Ceylon
Assumed office
14 October 1947
MonarchGeorge VI
Elizabeth II
Preceded byNone
Succeeded byDudley Senanayake
Personal details
Born(1884-10-20)20 October 1884
Botale, Negombo, British Ceylon
Died22 March 1952(1952-03-22) (aged 67)
Colombo, Dominion of Ceylon
NationalityCeylonese
Political partyUnited National Party
Spouse(s)Molly Dunuwila

Early life

He was born in the village Botale. He was the son of Mudaliyar Don Spater Senanayake and Dona Catherina Elizabeth Perera Gunasekera Senanayake. Brought up in a Buddhist family, he entered Anglican school S. Thomas' College, Mutwal. Though a smart student, at school Senanayake did not succeed. He witnessed Buck’s famous farewell speech "You have learned the best lessons from STC (St. Thomas’s College)... true manliness and truth, courage, purity and all those things that make a man a gentleman...".



D. S. Senanayake Media