Herbert Thambiah Explained

Herbert Thambiah
Office:39th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka
Appointer:Ranasinghe Premadasa
Term Start:1991
Term End:1991
Predecessor:Parinda Ranasinghe
Successor:G. P. S. de Silva
Office2:Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka
Term Start2:1984
Term End2:1992
Birth Date:14 October 1926
Alma Mater:Ceylon Law College
University of Ceylon
Profession:Lawyer
Blank1:Ethnicity
Data1:Sri Lankan Tamil

Herbert Dharmarajah Thambiah (14 October 1926  - 4 October 1992) was a Sri Lankan lawyer and judge. He was a Court of Appeal judge, Supreme Court judge and the 39th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka.

Early life and family

Thambiah was born on 14 October 1926.[1] He was the son of C. R. Thambiah, a lawyer from Jaffna in northern Ceylon. He was educated at Jaffna Central College and St. Thomas' College, Colombo.[1] After school he entered University of Ceylon and graduated with an honours degree in economics.[1] He taught at Hartley College for a period.[1] He then entered Ceylon Law College, obtaining a first class in the final examinations.[1] He became an advocate in 1954.[1]

Thambiah married Ranji Appathuari. They had one daughter - Savithri.[1]

Career

After qualifying Thambiah practised law for a while before joining the judicial service.[1] He rose up the ranks and became a Court of Appeal judge in 1978 and Supreme Court judge in 1984.[1] He was appointed Chief Justice in 1991.[1] He was succeeded by G. P. S. de Silva.[2]

Thambiah died on 4 October 1992 at the age of 65.[1]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Arumugam, S.. Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon. 1997. 220.
  2. Web site: Overview. Judicial Service Commission Secretariat. 19 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131019091817/http://www.jsc.gov.lk/web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47&Itemid=60&lang=en. 19 October 2013. dead.