J. R. Jayewardene

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

R.G. Senanayake
Personal details
Born
Junius Richard Jayewardene

(1906-09-17)17 September 1906
University College, Colombo,
  • Royal College, Colombo,
  • Bishop's College Colombo
    • ProfessionAdvocate
    Signature

    Junius Richard Jayewardene (Sinhala: ජුනියස් රිචඩ් ජයවර්ධන; Tamil: ஜூனியஸ் ரிச்சட் ஜயவர்தனா; 17 September 1906 – 1 November 1996), commonly abbreviated in Sri Lanka as J.R., was a Sri Lankan lawyer, Public official and a stateman who served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 1977 to 1978 and as the second President of Sri Lanka from 1978 to 1989. He was a leader of the nationalist movement in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) who served in a variety of cabinet positions in the decades following independence. A longtime member of the United National Party, he led it to a landslide victory in 1977 and served as prime minister for half a year before becoming the country's first executive president under an amended constitution.[1]

    A controversial figure in the

    closed economic policies,[2] Jayawardene's actions, including his response to the Black July riots of 1983, have been accused of contributing to the beginnings of the Sri Lankan Civil War.[3]

    Early life and marriage

    J. R. with his parents and siblings.

    Childhood

    Born in

    Theodore Jayewardene, Justice Valentine Jayewardene and the Press Baron D. R. Wijewardena. Raised by an English nanny,[4] he received his primary education at Bishop's College, Colombo
    .

    Education and early career

    Jayewardene gained admission to

    Sinhalese Sports Club; and Secretary, Royal College Union.[5][6]

    Following the family tradition, Jayewardene entered the

    Puisne Justice of Supreme Court of Ceylon and in July 1929, he joined three others in forming a dining club they called The Honorable Society of Pushcannons, which was later renamed as the Priya Sangamaya. In 1931, he passed his advocates exams, starting his legal practice in the unofficial bar
    .

    Marriage

    On 28 February 1935, Jayewardene married the heiress

    holiday home in Mirissa.[8][9]

    Early political career

    The first Cabinet of Ministers of Ceylon

    Jayewardene was attracted to national politics in his student years and developed strong nationalist views. He converted from Anglicanism to Buddhism and adopted the national dress as his formal attire.[10][5][11][12]

    Jayewardene did not practice law for long. In 1943 he gave up his full time legal practice to become an activist in the Ceylon National Congress (CNC), which provided the organizational platform for Ceylon's nationalist movement (the island was officially renamed Sri Lanka in 1972).[13] He became its Joint Secretary with Dudley Senanayake in 1939 and in 1940 he was elected to the Colombo Municipal Council from the New Bazaar Ward.

    State Council

    He was elected to the colonial legislature, the

    D. B. Jayatilaka. His victory is credited to his use of an anti-Christian campaign against his opponent the nationalist E. W. Perera.[14] During World War II, Jayewardene, along with other nationalists, contacted the Japanese and discussed a rebellion to drive the British from the island. In 1944, Jayewardene moved a motion in the State Council that Sinhala alone should replace English as the official language.[15]

    First finance minister of Ceylon

    After joining the

    San Francisco Conference. Jayewardene struggled to balance the budget, faced with mounting government expenditures, particularly for rice subsidies. He was re-elected in 1952 parliamentary election
    and remained as finance minister.

    Minister of agriculture and food

    His 1953 proposal to cut the subsidies on which many poor people depended on for survival provoked fierce opposition and the

    1953 Hartal campaign, and had to be called off. Following the resignation of Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake after the 1953 Hartal, the new Prime Minister Sir John Kotelawala appointed Jayewardene as minister of agriculture and food and leader of the house
    .

    Defeat and opposition

    Prime Minister Sir John Kotelawala called for early elections in 1956 with confidence that the United National Party would win the election. The

    R. G. Senanayake
    , who had contested both his own constituency Dambadeniya and Jayewardene's constituency of Kelaniya with the objective of defeating the latter after he had forced Senanayake out of the party.

    Having lost his seat in parliament, Jayewardene pushed the party to accommodate nationalism and endorse the

    S.J.V. Chelvanayagam in 1957, to solve the outstanding problems of the minorities, Jayawardene led a "March on Kandy" against it, but was stopped at Imbulgoda S. D. Bandaranayake.[14] The U.N.P.'s official organ the Siyarata subsequently ran several anti-Tamil articles, including a poem, containing an exhortation to kill Tamils in almost every line.[17]
    Throughout the 1960s Jayewardene clashed over this issue with party leader Dudley Senanayake. Jayewardene felt the UNP should be willing to play the ethnic card, even if it meant losing the support of ethnic minorities.

    Minister of finance

    Jayewardene became the vice-president and chief organizer of the United National Party, which achieved a narrow win in the March 1960 parliamentary election, forming a government under Dudley Senanayake. Jayewardene having been elected to parliament once again from the Kelaniya electorate was appointed once again as minister of finance. The government lasted only three months and lost the July 1960 parliamentary election to the a new coalition led by Bandaranayake's widow. Jayewardene remained in parliament in the opposition having been elected from the Colombo South electorate.[18]

    Minister of state

    J. R. Jayewardene in the 1970s

    The United National Party won the

    Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Defence and External Affairs thereby becoming the de facto deputy prime minister. No government had given serious thought to the development of the tourism industry as an economically viable venture until the United National Party came to power in 1965 and the subject came under the purview of J. R. Jayewardene. Jayewardene saw tourism as a great industry capable of earning foreign exchange, providing avenues of mass employment, and creating a workforce which commanded high employment potential globally. He was determined to place this industry on a solid foundation, providing it a 'conceptional base and institutional support.' This was necessary to bring dynamism and cohesiveness into an industry, shunned by leaders in the past, ignored by investors who were inhibited by the lack of incentive to invest in projects which were uncertain of a satisfactory return. Jayewardene considered it essential for the government to give that assurance and with this objective in view he tabled the Ceylon Tourist Board Act No 10 of 1966 followed by Ceylon Hotels Corporation Act No 14 of 1966. At present the tourism industry in Sri Lanka is major foreign exchange earner with tourist resorts in almost all cities and an annual turnover of over 500,000 tourists are enjoying the tropical climes and beaches.[19][20]

    Leader of the opposition

    In the general election of 1970 the UNP suffered a major defeat, when the SLFP and its newly formed coalition of leftist parties won almost 2/3 of the parliamentary seats. Once again elected to parliament J. R. Jayewardene took over as opposition leader and de facto leader of the UNP due to the ill health of Dudley Senanayake. After Senanayake's death in 1973, Jayewardene succeeded him as UNP leader. He gave the SLFP government his fullest support during the

    1971 JVP Insurrection
    (even though his son was arrested by the police without charges) and in 1972 when the new constitution was enacted proclaiming Ceylon a republic. However he opposed the government in many moves, which he saw as short sighted and damaging for the country's economy in the long run. These included the adaptation of the closed economy and nationalization of many private business and lands. In 1976 he resigned from his seat in parliament in protest, when the government used its large majority in parliament to extend the duration of the government by two more years at the end of its six-year term without holding a general election or a referendum requesting public approval.

    Prime minister

    President William Gopallawa and Prime Minister J.R. Jayewardene with the cabinet of ministers in 1977 after being sworn in.

    Tapping into growing anger with the SLFP government, Jayewardene led the UNP to a crushing victory in the 1977 election. The UNP won a staggering five-sixths of the seats in parliament—a total that was magnified by the first-past-the-post system, and one of the most lopsided victories ever recorded for a democratic election. Having been elected to parliament from the Colombo West Electoral District, Jayewardene became Prime Minister and formed a new government.

    Presidency

    Presidential Standard of Junius Richard Jayewardene

    Shortly thereafter, he amended the

    Sri Jayawardanapura Kotte. He had likely SLFP presidential nominee Sirimavo Bandaranaike stripped of her civic rights and barred from running for office for six years, based her decision in 1976 to extend the term of parliament. This ensured that the SLFP would be unable to field a strong candidate against him in the 1982 election, leaving his path to victory clear. This election was held under the 3rd amendment to the constitution which empowered the president to hold a Presidential Election anytime after the expiration of four years of his first term. He held a referendum to cancel the 1983 parliamentary elections, and allow the 1977 parliament to continue until 1989. He also passed a constitutional amendment barring from Parliament any MP who supported separatism; this effectively eliminated the main opposition party, the Tamil United Liberation Front
    .

    Economy

    There was a complete turnaround in economic policy under him as the previous policies had led to economic stagnation. He opened the heavily state-controlled economy to market forces, which many credit with subsequent economic growth. He opened up the economy and introduced more liberal economic policies emphasizing private sector led development. Policies were changed to create an environment conducive to foreign and local investment, with the objective of promoting export led growth shifting from previous policies of import substitution. To facilitate export oriented enterprises and to administer Export Processing Zones the Greater Colombo Economic Commission was established. Food subsidies were curtailed and targeted through a Food Stamps Scheme extended to the poor. The system of rice rationing was abolished. The Floor Price Scheme and the Fertilizer Subsidy Scheme were withdrawn. New welfare schemes, such as free school books and the Mahapola Scholarship Programme, were introduced. The rural credit programme expanded with the introduction of the New Comprehensive Rural Credit Scheme and several other medium and long-term credit schemes aimed at small farmers and the self-employed.[21]

    He also launched large scale infrastructure development projects. He launched an extensive housing development program to meet housing shortages in urban and rural areas. The Accelerated Mahaweli Programme built new reservoirs and large hydropower projects such as the Kotmale, Victoria, Randenigala, Rantembe and Ulhitiya. Several Trans Basin Canals were also built to divert water to the Dry Zone.[21]

    Conservation

    His administration launched several wildlife conservation initiatives. This included stopping commercial logging in

    World Biosphere Reserve in 1978 and a World Heritage Site
    in 1988.

    Tamil militancy and civil war

    Jayewardene moved to crack down on the growing activity of

    Indian peacekeeping force
    in the north, and the demobilization of the LTTE.

    The LTTE rejected the accord, as it fell short of even an autonomous state. The provincial councils suggested by India did not have powers to control revenue, policing, or government-sponsored

    revolt, organized by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
    (JVP) which was eventually put down by the government by 1989.

    Foreign policy

    Jayewardene presenting a baby elephant to US President Ronald Reagan and the American people, 1984

    In contrast with his predecessor, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Jayewardena's foreign policy was aligned with American policies (earning him the nickname 'Yankie Dickie') much to the chagrin of India. Before Jayewardena's ascendency into the presidency, Sri Lanka had doors widely open to neighboring India. Jayewardena's tenure in the office restricted the doors to India a number of times; once an American company tender was granted over an Indian company tender.

    Jayewardene hosted Queen Elizabeth II in a visit to Sri Lanka in October 1981.

    In 1984, Jayewardene made an official State visit the United States; first Sri Lankan President to do so, upon the invitation of then US President Ronald Reagan.

    Post-presidency

    Jayewardene left office and retired from politics in 1989 after the conclusion of his second term as president at the age of 82;[22] after his successor Ranasinghe Premadasa was formally inaugurated on 2 January 1989. He did not re-enter politics during his retirement even after the assassination of Premadasa in 1993.

    Death

    Jayewardene died of colon cancer, on 1 November 1996, aged 90, at a hospital in Colombo.[23] He was survived by his wife, Elina, and his son, Ravi.[24]

    Legacy

    President J. R. Jayewardene and Diyawadana Nilame Dr. Nissanka Wijeyeratne with Raja (elephant)

    On the economic front, Jayewardene's legacy is decisively a positive one.[21] His economic policies are often credited with saving the Sri Lankan economy from ruin.[2] For thirty years after independence, Sri Lanka had struggled in vain with slow growth and high unemployment. By opening up the country for extensive foreign investments, lifting price controls and promoting private enterprise (which had taken a heavy hit because of the policies of the preceding administration), Jayewardene ensured that the island maintained healthy growth despite the civil war. William K. Steven of The New York Times observes, ''President Jayawardene's economic policies were credited with transforming the economy from one of scarcity to one of abundance.''[2][25]

    On the ethnic question, Jayewardene's legacy is bitterly divisive. When he took office, ethnic tensions were present in the country but were not overtly volatile. But relations between the two ethnicities heavily deteriorated during his administration and his response to these tensions and the signs of conflict has been heavily criticized.[3][4] President Jayewardene saw these differences between the Sinhalese and Tamils as being ''an unbridgeable gap''.[25] Jayewardene said in an interview with the Daily Telegraph, 11 July 1983, "Really, if I starve the Tamils out, the Sinhala people will be happy"[26][27][28][29] in reference to the widespread anti-Tamil sentiments among the Sinhalese at that time.[25]

    Highly respected in Japan for his call for peace and reconciliation with post-war Japan at the Peace Conference in San Francisco in 1951, a statue of Jayewardene was erected at the Kamakura Temple in the Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan in his honor.[30]

    J.R. Jayewardene Centre

    In 1988, the

    J.R. Jayewardene Centre was established by the J.R. Jayewardene Centre Act No. 77 of 1988 by Parliament at the childhood home of J. R. Jayewardene Dharmapala Mawatha, Colombo. It serves as archive for J.R. Jayewardene's personal library and papers as well as papers, records from the Presidential Secretariat
    and gifts he received in his tenure as president.

    Further reading

    See also

    References

    1. ^ "J.R. Jayewardene". BRITANNICA-Online. 28 October 2023.
    2. ^
      ISSN 0362-4331
      . Retrieved 7 August 2021.
    3. ^ a b "Obituary : J. R. Jayawardene". The Independent. 18 September 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
    4. ^
      ISSN 0362-4331
      . Retrieved 14 May 2019.
    5. ^ a b Remembering the most dominant Lankan political figure Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
    6. ^ JR's 10th death anniversary today
    7. ^ Tribute: My father had many facets, not many faces. Daily News (Sri Lanka), Retrieved on 3 April 2018.
    8. ^ "India may train Sri Lankan troops". Archived from the original on 26 July 2010. Retrieved 11 January 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
    9. ^ Humble son of a humble President
    10. ISBN 0-8248-1183-6
      .
    11. ^ "JRJ's 102nd birth anniversary on Sept. 17" Archived 18 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
    12. ISBN 9780824811839
      . Retrieved 29 June 2020.
    13. ^ "J.R. Jayewardene | president of Sri Lanka". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
    14. ^ a b "JRJ: Farsighted statesman?". Archived from the original on 29 September 2019.
    15. ^ "Mr.J.R.Jayawardene on 'Sinhala Only and Tamil Also' in the Ceylon State Council".
    16. ^ "Sri Lanka's Role in Japanese Peace Treaty 1952: In Retrospect". 27 April 2015.
    17. ^ "State of Emergency" (PDF).
    18. ^ 1960-61 Ferguson's Ceylon Directory. Ferguson's Directory. 1961. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
    19. ^ "DIED JUNIUS RICHARD JAYEWARDENE". Asia Week. 15 November 1996. Archived from the original on 10 May 2009.
    20. ^ "Political forces - The constitution remains controversial". The Economist. 16 August 2006.
    21. ^ a b c "President Junius R. Jayawardena (1978-1988)". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
    22. ^ Election heat and ‘Yahapalana’ antics
    23. ^ "Junius Jayewardene Dies". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
    24. ISSN 0362-4331
      . Retrieved 12 May 2020.
    25. ^
      ISSN 0362-4331
      . Retrieved 7 August 2021.
    26. ISBN 978-1-4725-2907-7
      .
    27. ISBN 9780737770162
      .
    28. ISBN 9781783601707
      .
    29. ISBN 978-1-315-26571-1
      .
    30. ^ A visionary strategist


    External links

    Government offices
    Preceded by President of Sri Lanka
    1978–1989     		Succeeded by
    Preceded by
    Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike
    		 Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
    1977–1978     		Succeeded by
    Political offices
    Preceded by Secretary General of Non-Aligned Movement
    1978–1979     		Succeeded by