E. L. B. Hurulle

Deshamanya Edwin Loku Bandara Hurulle (Sinhala: එඩ්වින් ලොකු බණඩාර හුරුල්ලේ) (19 January 1919 – 6 April 2009) (known as E. L. B. Hurulle) was a Sri Lankan Member of Parliament, diplomat and Provincial Governor who served as Cabinet Minister of Communications in Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake's Government and Cabinet Minister of Cultural Affairs under President J. R. Jayewardene's Government. He was also Sri Lanka High Commissioner to Australia, Governor, Central Province and North Central Province.

Early days

He was the first child of Tikiri Bandara Hurulle and Alice Bulankulame. His paternal grandfather Henarath Bandara Hurulle had been Rate Mahatmaya of Hurulupalatha in Anuradhapura District. It had been Punchi Bandara Hurulle, the father of Henarath Bandara Hurulle, who had made the move from their original home close to the dam of the Hurulu Weva to Morakewa in Horowpotana. Punchi Bandara Hurulle had built his Walauwa by the Morakewa Reservoir. Subsequently, a palatial two-storeyed Walawwa built by Henarath Bandara Hurulle around 1900 A.D. between the Morakewa Weva and the Anuradhapura - Trincomalee Main Road. This was the building set ablaze by the JVP during the insurgency in 1988.

Henarath Banda Hurulle had married Maningamuwe Weragama Kumarihamy. Edwin’s full name was Illangasinghe Kalukumara Rajakaruna Edwin Loku Bandara Hurulle. Edwin’s maternal grandfather was Loku Bandara Bulankulame Dissava, who was the Atamasthana Nilame (chief lay custodian of Atamasthana) in Anuradhapura.

Education

He completed his primary and secondary education at St Patrick’s College, Jaffna & Trinity College, Kandy where he passed the London Inter - Arts Examination.

Government Service and political career

Hurulle for a time served as an acting Rate Mahatmaya and was subsequently absorbed into the ranks of the Divisional Revenue Officers who replaced the Rate Mahatmayas in the Kandyan areas and the Korale Mudliyars in the Low Country. In election of 1956 he, for the first time, contested for the Horowpotana electorate in Parliament and survived the MEP landslide when the UNP was to a (mere) eight Parliamentary Seats. His maternal uncle P.B. Bulankulame Dissava who had served in the Cabinet could not retain his seat in Parliament at this election.

He won three more elections thereafter and in 1965 entered the Cabinet as Minister of Communications. In 1977 he was appointed Cabinet Minister of Cultural Affairs and retired in 1994 after serving as Governor of the Central Province, High Commissioner in Australia and Governor of the North Central Province.

• As Minister of Communications: Expedited the change in Sri Lanka Railways to Diesel Engines by replacing the outdated steam engines. He inducted the Trident Passenger Jet Airplane to Air Ceylon thus taking Air Ceylon from a propeller driven era to a Jet engine era. He also introduced Motor Car Taxis for the first time to Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) which were permitted to be imported free of customs duty.
• As Minister of Cultural Affairs: facilitated assistance from UNESCO in Paris to set up the Central Cultural Fund and formalize Sri Lanka’s Cultural Triangle Project. He expedited Archeological excavation work at Archeological sites resulting in the finding of many rare Archeological artefacts. The completion of the Sinhala dictionary (expected to take a further 20 years) was also expedited during his tenure of office. The translations of the Tripiṭaka and the Quran to Sinhala were also carried out during his period of office.

• As Governor, Central Province: In 1988, he ensured the setting up and operation of the Central Provincial Council for the first time when Provincial Council related persons were being killed and injured by the armed insurgents in the South of Sri Lanka who were opposed to the Provincial Council system.

• As Sri Lanka High Commissioner in Australia: Encouraged Sri Lankans of all races and religions living in Australia to have a Sri Lankan identity. Countered the anti-Sri Lanka campaigns of pro - LTTE activists by meeting Australian Politicians, Officials and used the Australian Media to explain the true situation in Sri Lanka.

• As Governor, North Central Province: Used his experience of nearly 40 years as a former Politician of Anuradhapura District to guide the Chief Minister, Provincial Ministers Members and Council Officials to serve the Public effectively.

Family

He married Malinee Galagoda, the youngest daughter of Madduma Bandara Galagoda of Galagoda Walauwa, Teldeniya, a Basnayake Nilame (Chief Lay custodian) of the Naatha-Devalay, Kandy and a former Officer of the Department of Forests. E.L.B. Hurulle and his wife Malinee had two daughters Maya and Deepthi and three sons Themiya (ex Project Minister of Science & Technology,ex Member,North Central Provincial Council and former Director-General, Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka), Vajira and Kanishka.