Hon.
P. Andrew Cooray
Kalutara
In office
1952–1960
Preceded byCholomondeley Goonewardene
Succeeded byCholomondeley Goonewardene
Personal details
Born
Pesteruweliyanarallage Andrew Cooray

(1901-08-05)5 August 1901[1]
Kalutara, Sri Lanka
Died2 June 1998(1998-06-02) (aged 96)
Political partyUnited National Party[1]
SpouseMary Laura née Mathes
ChildrenRanjan, Marie Dabrera, Nixita, Rohan
Occupationlawyer, politician, businessman
EthnicitySinhalese

Pesteruweliyanarallage Andrew Cooray (5 August 1901 – 2 June 1998) was a member of the Parliament of Ceylon.[1]

Biography

Pesteruweliyanarallage Andrew Cooray was born 5 August 1901, the eldest in a family of eleven.[2] He was a founding member of the United National Party (UNP) entering politics in 1928, two years after he passed out as a proctor. In 1927 Cooray became a village committee member for Maggona and Payagala.[2] He then contested and was elected onto the Kalutara Urban Council, a position he retained for thirty years.[2] In 1938 he was appointed chairman of the Urban Council, a position he retained for fourteen years.[2]

In 1952 he contested the second parliamentary elections for the UNP in the Kalutara electorate successfully defeating the sitting member, Cholomondeley Goonewardene, from the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, by 332 votes (a margin of just under 1% of the total vote).[3][4]

In 1965 he sought re-election at the 3rd parliamentary elections but finished third, losing to Goonewardene by 4,108 votes.[5]

In 1934 Cooray started distilling arrack and vinegar at his Anwil Distillery.[4] He was also the owner of the Neboda Omnibus Company and the chairman of Free Lanka Finance Ltd.[2] He also, as a board member of Global Films,[6] produced several films including Kalu Diya Dahara, which debuted Ravindra Randeniya, and The God King, which was directed by Lester James Peiris.[4]

Cooray died on 2 June 1998, at the age of 96, the oldest surviving member of the United National Party.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Hon. Cooray, Pesteruweliyanarallage Andrew, M.P." Directory of Past members. Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Grand old man dies at 96". Sunday Times. 14 June 1998. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  3. ↑ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1952" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 "Three Hurrahs for Cooray as he turns 96". Sunday Times. 19 January 1997. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  5. ↑ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1956" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015.
  6. ↑ Boyle, Richard (26 April 1998). "The making of 'The God King' - Part 1 Bizarre beginnings". Sunday Times. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
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