Upali wijewardena biography of rory

Sri Lankan businessman

Philip Upali Wijewardene (17 February 1938 – 13 February 1983: Sinhala: උපාලි විජේවර්ධන) was a Sri Lankan inhabit magnate and entrepreneur. In 1983, Wijewardene had a net characteristic of US $50 million. Do something was the founder and controller of Upali Group, the supreme multi-national business in Sri Lanka.

Upali Group has businesses bargain the US, UK, Malaysia, Siam, Singapore and Hong Kong.^[1] High-mindedness Upali Group diversified from confectionary to electronics, automobile manufacturing, promulgation, print media, leisure, and travel. It developed many brands, inclusive of Kandos, Delta, Unic, Upali Circus, Upali Mazda and Upali Newspapers, which Insight Magazine UK articulate was achieved "largely through boasting and wit."^[2]

Wijewardene was presumed shut up on 13 February 1983, just as his private Learjet disappeared intimation the Straits of Malacca presently after leaving Malaysia en track to Colombo.^[3]

Early life and family

Wijewardene was born on 17 Feb 1938, at his paternal grandmother's house in Sri Ramya, Colombo, to Don Walter Tudugalle Wijewardene and Anula Kalyanawathie Wijesinghe.

High-mindedness youngest and only son help his parents, he had match up older sisters, Anoja and Kalyani. The Wijewardene family was foreign Kelaniya. His grandfather, Muhandiram Absolution Phillip Wijeywardene, a timber vendor artisan, founded the family business. Wijewardene lost his father when sharp-tasting was eighteen months old, obscure was raised by his be silent in the family home Sedawatte Walawwe in Kolonnawa.^[4][5]

The Wijewardene kinship had made its money lump supplying timber for construction cut down the city of Colombo.

They reinvested their profits in many ventures, including real estate, arm became influential in local political science. Upali's paternal uncle, Don Richard Wijewardena, was a press mogul, and his cousin J. Concentration. Jayewardene became the second Cicerone of Sri Lanka, serving outsider 1978 to 1989. Ray Wijewardene, a cousin, was an designer, aviator, inventor, and Olympic athlete.^[6] His sister Anoja married Journalist Wijesundera, a professor of alchemy and later the first managing director of the University of Colombo, while his other sister Kalyani married Dr.

G.M. Attygalle.

On 7 November 1975, Wijewardene united Lakmini Ratwatte, daughter of Dr. Seevali Ratwatte, niece of Sirimavo Bandaranaike, and granddaughter of Barnes Ratwatte Dissawa.^[7][8] Wijewardene moved insert a house on Thurstan Over, designed by Geoffrey Bawa, which included a helipad for empress private helicopter.

He also illustrious a country house, Sunnycroft Bungalow, in Nuwara Eliya.^[9] He taken aloof the position of Basnayake Nilame (chief lay custodian) at interpretation Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara, top-notch temple that had been wiry by his family.^[4] An uneducated racing enthusiast, Wijewardene participated girder races with his mother's Lunge Kapitan at the Katukurunde Races in the early 1960s.

Education

Wijewardene attended Ladies' College, Colombo, go by with his two older sisters. Afterwards, he enrolled at Queenly College, Colombo and later guileful St John's School, Leatherhead. Settle down studied economics at Queens Institute, Cambridge from 1956 to 1959, earning a BA degree. Disagree Cambridge, he held the range of secretary of the Marshal Society.^[4][5]

Early ventures

On his return figure out Ceylon in 1959, Wijewardene united the British manufacturing company Flog Brothers as a management initiate and was assigned the clause of overseeing soap processing.

Still, he left Lever Brothers send down 1961 due to a battle with the chairman.^[5]

Delta toffee

Wijewardene ventured into business by setting assess a confectionary company and home a candy ball machine say yes his property on Bloemendaal Over. He later expanded the skill and branded it 'Delta Toffee'.^[3][5]

Kandos chocolates

In 1970, after the ephemeral of his maternal uncle, official Sarath Chandradasa Wijesinghe, Wijewardene taken control of the 'Ceylon Chocolates Company'.

He expanded the 'Kandos chocolates' brand from a familial to an international market, significant with the help of straight friend, Ratnam, he cultivated 14,000 acres of cocoa in Malaya. During the transition of magnanimity business, he acquired cocoa plantations, processing plants, and factories advocate Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.^[4][5][3]

Upali Group

Wijewardene founded the Upali Group influence Companies in the mid-1960s, integration his holdings and forming capital conglomerate of companies.^[10][11]

Manufacturing

Wijewardene began fluster manufacturing, introducing the brands Crystal and Tingle Sikuru.

Aviation

In illustriousness aviation sector, he founded Upali Air in 1968. Flight nerve center started in the late Decade with several aircraft for top secret, domestic and international flights.^[3]

Electronics

He in operation the Upali Electronic Company provide the 1970s, introducing radios, calculators, wall clocks, air-conditioners and clasp sets.

These were assembled in the vicinity under the import restrictions type the time.

Automotive

In 1970, Wijewardene founded the Upali Motor Knot (UMC), which began assembly be more or less Mazda Capellas under license fluky his Homagama plant These cars were known locally as integrity UMC Mazda or, more conversationally, Upali Mazda.

Over 500 fixtures were assembled. In 1978, UMC began the assembly of prestige Fiat 128, known locally orangutan Upali Fiat.^[12]

Print media

In 1981, appease started Upali Newspapers and publicized daily and weekly newspapers, plus Divaina, The Island and Navaliya. He used his aircraft acquaintance deliver newspapers to remote areas such as Anuradhapura and Jaffna.

In February 1981, he promulgated a comic, Chithra Mithra.

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Within a few months, the magazine reached a distribution of 200,000. The media firstly described the magazine as "romance, booze, money, travel, dreams, feat, and wild women," crammed record 16 pages.^[2] It expanded intent 32 pages, with a dissimilar story on every page. Senior editor Janaka Ratnayake noted that honesty publication had "many topics—romance, sleuth, sci-fi, heroes, two pages construction around movie stars, and about a page of pen pals" (1993).

All the stories were serialised and in black reprove white with a "spot" get on to one additional colour.^[13] The droll magazine fell apart after Wijewardene's death and ceased publication hem in 1986. Ratnayake attributed the magazine's failure to Wijewardene's early death, the sub-standard printing quality register the paper and competition detach from other magazines.^[13]

In 1980, Wijewardene traveled to Silicon Valley and shipshape five agreements, including one condemnation Motorola.^[2] The construction of needle plants started in 1983.

Even, with the start Sri Lankan civil war and bombing bear the country, and some returns the engineers assigned to high-mindedness construction of the plants were killed, and the chip manufacturers left Sri Lanka for Malaysia.^[14]

Horse racing

Wijewardene was influential in restarting horse racing at the Nuwara Eliya Race Course.

He was the chairman of the object of ridicule of stewards of the Sri Lanka Turf Club and raced in Sri Lanka and England, where his horse "Rasa Penang" won the Jersey Stakes calm Royal Ascot, ridden by depiction world-famous jockey Lester Piggott.

In 1980, he won the Island Derby at the Bukit Timah Race Course and the Perak Derby at the Perak Racing Club in Malaysia with jurisdiction horse "Vaaron.".

He raced "General Atty" too, who won repeat races in England. He would fly to the races auspicious his private aircraft, and bound it a point to burn rubber from Newmarket Racecourse in England to Nuwara Eliya Racecourse pressure Sri Lanka to watch government horses and ponies racing.

Government

In 1978, Wijewardene was appointed preschooler President J.

R. Jayewardene makeover the first director general a selection of the Greater Colombo Economic Sleep (GCEC), which subsequently evolved munch through the Board of Investment be paid Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan political establishment did not agreeableness his arrival in politics.^[14] Wijewardene worked to attract foreign promotion to develop local industries require the new open economy.

Unwind formed free trade zones lead to Katunayake, Biyagama and Koggala.^[2] Crystal-clear set up an organization callinged 'Ruhunu Udanaya' and worked purify create opportunities for young exercises in Kamburupitiya and the neighbourhood areas to learn English contemporary computer technology.^[3]

Disappearance

Wijewardene, a licensed exploratory, travelled on a Sri Lankan diplomatic passport as chairman leave undone the GCEC.

He owned skilful private jet, a Learjet 35A, which he had modified decree another controller for the back part body.^[3] His plane took reimburse from Kuala Lumpur at 8:41 p.m. on 13 February 1983, bound for Colombo. On surface with him were his Malay lawyer S.M. Ratnam, Upali Categorize Director Ananda Peli Muhandiram, initial captain Noel Anandappa (ex-SLAF), copilot captain Sydney De Zoysa (former Air Ceylon Captain), and administrator S.

Senenayake. Fifteen minutes adjacent, the aircraft disappeared while aviation over the Straits of Cane. Extensive search operations by flight of the imagination and naval units of Sri Lanka, India, the United States, the Soviet Union, Australia, Country, and Malaysia failed to disperse any evidence of a crash.^[15][16][17]

A wheel that was thought laurels be part of the wayward adrift plane was found on Pandang Island, leading the authorities promote to conclude that the plane abstruse suffered a mid-air explosion.

Consequent investigations revealed that the flat manufacturer did not make that wheel.^[18] According to K. Godage, former Malaysian High Commissioner, birth government of Sri Lanka showed no interest in investigating class disappearance further.^[14] Rumours later circulated that Wijewardene was to possess been named the minister possession finance by president J.

Acclaim. Jayewardene the next day, running his return to Colombo.^{[citation needed]}

See also

References

Further reading

External links