The Senanayake as the first Prime Minister of Ceylon with his Cabinet members
D.S.Senanayaka visiting the 1st battalion of the CLI at the Echelon Square
Mudaliyar Don Spater Senanayake ( son of Don Bartholomew who had assumed the name Senanayake), with son-in-law F.H. Dias-Bandaranaike, sons Don Stephen Senanayake, Don Charles Senanayake and Fredrick Richard Senanayake, daughter Maria Frances and wife Dona Catherina Elizabeth Perera. They were Anglican Christians
Born at Botale, Negombo to Mudaliyar Don Spater Senanayake and Dona Catherina Elizabeth Perera Gunasekera Senanayake. Brought up in a devout Buddhist family, he entered the Anglican school S. Thomas' College on his father's wishes, and converted to Christianity.[3] He later converted to Buddhism to in order to become a polititian in the majority Buddhist Sri Lanka . An intelligent student, he found work in the Surveyor General's Department, but left work as a superintended on his father's plantation. When World War I broke out in 1914 he joined the Colombo Town Guard, however he was imprisoned without charges during the Sinhalese Muslim Riots (known as the 1915 riots) and was faced the prospect of execution.
Senanayake played an active role in the independence movement first supporting his brother Fredrick Richard Senanayake and after his death in 1926, D. S. took his place Legislative Council and lead the independence movement. In 1931 when he was elected to the State Council, and went on to become Minister of Agriculture and Lands. He combated Ceylon's agricultural problems effectively, and established the LDO, an agricultural policy that countered Ceylon's rice problems. This policy earned him respect, and he continued to be a minister for fifteen years. He also enforced "Agricultural Modernisation", which increased production output. During World War II he was a member of the Ceylon war cabinet.
However, he resigned in 1946 from his cabinet post to fight for Ceylon's independence. That same year he founded the United National Party (UNP) by amalgamating three right-leaning pro-dominion parties, which is still one of the main political parties and perhaps the largest single party in Sri Lanka. In only a year he succeeded, and was elected as Ceylon's first Prime Minister in the general election held in 1947. He refused a knighthood, but maintained good relations with Britain and was a Privy Councillor. He boldly made plans to spread out the population, and his Gal Oya scheme relocated over 250,000 people.
His other plans included the increase of hydroelectric power, but he suffered a stroke and fell down whilst riding the Police mare ‘Chitra’ at the Galle Face Green on the morning of March 22, 1952.He died at the age of sixty-seven.
