Former Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne passes away

By Nadeeka Daya Bandara - Kandy   

The former Prime Minister, D.M. Jayaratne passed away yesterday at the age of 88 at a private hospital in Kandy where he was receiving treatment.  

He was the 14th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and had his primary education at Doluwa temple and Gampola Zahira College and served as a teacher and a postmaster after passing the Higher Secondary School Certificate examination.   

He became the Secretary of Kandy District Community Board in 1950 and later became the President of the All-Island Federation of Village Council Chairman’s. He was elected to the parliament in 1970 and became the Minister of Agriculture and Lands in 1994. He was detained by police on several occasions owing to the dedicated role he played involving in people’s movements such as the movement to provide land for landless people. D.M. Jayaratne was a father of three children including the former Deputy Minister of Mahaweli Development and Environment, Anuradha Jayaratne. Final rites of late D.M. Jayaratne to be notified later.