List of mayors of Galle explained

The Mayor of Galle is the head of Galle Municipal Council and his office is located at the Galle Town Hall.

List of mayors

The following were the Mayor of Galle:

Name Date of office Notes
1939-41 First Mayor of Galle and Prime Minister of Ceylon (1959–60)
A. I. H. A. Wahab 1942-43 First Muslim Mayor of Galle; High Commissioner to Ghana
Don Samuel Goonasekera[1] 1944 Member for Udugama (1947-52), Member for Habaraduwa (1960-64) Minister of Labour, Cultural Affairs and Social Services
W. T. Wijekulasuriya1945 High Commissioner to Kenya
E. D. Nagahawatta1946
W. T. Wijekulasuriya1947-49
1950-51 The longest-serving mayor of Galle[2]
W. T. Wijekulasuriya1952-53
A. R. M. Thassim 1954-62
W. D. S. Abeygoonawardena1966-69 Member of Parliament for Galle
D. P. Wijenarayana 1970-1971 Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Union of Myanmar (1982–86)
B. P. Wijenarayana 1972-74
S. C. C. R. Koolathilak 1974
A. G. Goonarathne 1979-83
A. H. M. Anwar 1983-88 nephew of Al-Haj A. R. M. Thassim
T. Darlin de Silva 1988-91
Wijaya Dahanayake[3] 1991-97 Deputy Minister of Public Administration and Home Affairs and Member of Parliament for Matara
1997-2001 Member for Galle District (2004–10) and deputy minister of Social Services and Social Welfare
Mansoor Marikar 2001-02
2002-2004
Ismail Mohamed Ariff[4] 2004-06
Weeranarayana Kelum Seneviratne 2006 - November 2008 At the local government elections in 2006 Seneviratne and de Silva both received an equal number (5,998) preferences each and subsequently agreed to share the office of Mayor, with Seneviratne becoming mayor for the first two years.[5]
Alexendar Methsiri de Silva November 2008 - January 2013 At the 2011 local government elections de Silva was formally elected as mayor. In January 2013 the Chief Minister of Southern Province, Shan Wijayalal De Silva formally removed de Silva from the office of mayor.[6]
Weeranarayana Kelum Seneviratne[7] January 2013 - June 2014 Following the removal of de Silva the deputy mayor, Seneviratne, was appointed as mayor.
Alexandar Methsiri de Silva June 2014 - May 2015 In June 2014 the Galle High Court revoked the Chief Minister's decision to remove de Silva as mayor and he was re-instated.[8]
Weeranarayana Kelum Seneviratne May 2015 - March 2018 In May 2015 the Court of Appeal annulled the Galle High Court's decision and Seneviratne was appointed as mayor.[9]
Priyantha Godagama Sahabandu March 2018 - present Subsequent to the 2018 Sri Lankan local elections, in a secret ballot held on 23 March 2018, Sahabandu was elected to the position of mayor obtaining 20 votes to 11 over his rival candidate.[10]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: A Politician and a Gentleman. Daily News. Jayawardane. Ishara. 17 July 2012.
  2. News: City father to Galle and philanthropist to the nation. Sunday Times. Fahim. Thimsy. 3 January 2010. 8 December 2014.
  3. News: Galle MC mourns death of Gamini Atukorale. Daily News. 4 January 2002. 8 December 2014.
  4. News: Southern Sri Lanka digs out, looks to rebuild. Reuters. 7 January 2005. 19 March 2018.
  5. News: Galle Mayor to quit. Chaminda, Lalith. Kaluarachi, S. K.. The Island. 15 November 2008. 19 March 2018.
  6. News: Methsiri Silva stripped from post of Galle Mayor & membership of Municipal Council. Hiru News. 23 January 2013. 19 March 2018.
  7. http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=sports/action-carlton-international-super-sevens Action at Carlton International Super Sevens
  8. News: Court nullifies order to remove Methsiri De Silva as Galle mayor. News First. 26 June 2014. 19 March 2018.
  9. News: Methsiri loses Galle mayorship again. Adadarena. 8 May 2015. 19 March 2018.
  10. News: SLPP’s Priyantha Godage elected Galle Mayor . Daily Mirror . 23 March 2018 . 23 March 2018.