M. Rajendra

CCS
Born(1911-07-04)4 July 1911
British Malaya
Died10 March 1991(1991-03-10) (aged 79)
Alma materCeylon University College
OccupationCivil servant
TitleTreasury Secretary
Term15 November 1968 – 6 May 1971
PredecessorH. J. Samarakkody
SuccessorC. A. Coorey

Murugeysen Rajendra (4 July 1911 – 10 March 1991) was a leading Ceylonese civil servant.

Early life

Rajendra was born on 4 July 1911 in British Malaya.[1][2] He was the son of Visvanathan Murugeysen, who hailed from Vaddukoddai in northern Ceylon, an officer in the British colonial administration, and head of the telegraph office in Kuala Lumpur.[1][2] Rajendra had his early education at the Victoria Institution before being sent to Ceylon along with his brother Tiruchelvam to study at S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia.[1][2] The brothers were placed under the guardianship of S. J. V. Chelvanayakam.[3] At St. Thomas, he was a close friend of Dudley Senanayake, later Prime Minister.[2] After school Rajendra joined the Ceylon University College, graduating in 1933 with a BA honours degree in history.[1][2][4]

Rajendra married Neela, a daughter of G. Wignarajah.[1][2] They had two sons (Jayantha and Ajita) and a daughter (Malathy).[1][2]

Career

Rajendra joined the Ceylon Civil Service as a cadet on 12 December 1934.[1][2] He was Assistant Government Agent in Matara, Hambantota, Chilaw, Kandy, and Nuwara Eliya before becoming Government Agent of Eastern Province (1 August 1949 to 6 March 1950) and Government Agent of North Central Province in 1951.[1][2][5] He was Lands and Land Development Commissioner from 1954 to 1959.[1][2] He was later permanent secretary at the Ministry of Post, Broadcasting and Information, and Ministry of Nationalised Services.[1] He was Treasury Secretary and Head of the Public Service from 1968 to 1971.[1][2][6]

Later life

After retirement Rajendra was chairman of the Freedom from Hunger Foundation and a member of the Monetary Board (1971–77).[1][2] He died on 10 March 1991.[1][2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon. p. 156.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "His sheer personality dominated any situation". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 10 July 2011.
  3. ↑ Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (24 November 2007). "Murugeysen Tiruchelvam: Strategist-Statesman of the Federal Party". transcurrents.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ↑ Ceylon University College Prospectus 1936-37. Ceylon University College. 1936. p. 60.
  5. ↑ "List of Former Government Agent". Batticaloa District Secretariat.
  6. ↑ "Secretaries to the Treasury". Ministry of Finance (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 2015-01-28.
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