D. S. Senanayake

Don Stephen Senanayake (Sinhala: දොන් ස්ටීවන් සේනානායක; 20 October 1884 – 22 March 1952) was an independence activist. He was the first Prime Minister of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) from 1947 to 1952.

The Right Honourable D. S. Senanayake
D.S. Senanayake
Prime Minister of Ceylon
Incumbent
Assumed office 14 October 1947
Monarch	George VI Elizabeth II
Preceded by	None
Succeeded by	Dudley Senanayake
Personal details
Born	(1884-10-20)20 October 1884 Botale, Negombo, British Ceylon
Died	22 March 1952(1952-03-22) (aged 67) Colombo, Dominion of Ceylon
Nationality	Ceylonese
Political party	United National Party
Spouse(s)	Molly Dunuwila

Early life

He was born in the village Botale. He was the son of Mudaliyar Don Spater Senanayake and Dona Catherina Elizabeth Perera Gunasekera Senanayake. Brought up in a Buddhist family, he entered Anglican school S. Thomas' College, Mutwal. Though a smart student, at school Senanayake did not succeed. He witnessed Buck’s famous farewell speech "You have learned the best lessons from STC (St. Thomas’s College)... true manliness and truth, courage, purity and all those things that make a man a gentleman...".