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| Friday, 25 June 2004 |
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Mallory Evan Wijesinghe: Touched hundreds of lives for the better Our beloved chairman who passed away on December 27 2002 would have celebrated his 86th birthday on June 25, 2004.
Mallory Evan Wijesinghe left behind his wife Joyce Wijesinghe and sons Eraj Wijesinghe-Group Managing Director-Bartleet Group, Sunil Wijesinghe Managing Director-BC Computers and daughter Dr. (Mrs) Hiranthi Wijemanne and all those who loved and cherished him, who were helped by him and those who drew inspiration from his life and last but not least those who were privileged to know and work with him and for him. Mr. Wijesinghe belonged to a rare breed of men, to a generation that is slowly passing away, leaving an untillable void that may never be filled in our society. This is because those in that generation were products of a different era, different ethos and different milieu. Mallory Wijesinghe was an engineer by profession. Completing his academic career at the tender age of 23 he joined the Public Works Department and finding public service too much oppressive for his tastes he took the proverbial giant step towards the private sector, a career move which had a significant effect on his and the lives of many others who came to know him. In November 1958 when the country was known as "Ceylon", Mallory Wijesinghe was appointed the first Ceylonese Director of Bartleet and Co. Ltd., and later became chairman of the company. In the 1960's he became the company's first local Managing Director. In 1973 Mr. Wijesinghe was appointed the Honorary Consul-General of the Netherlands to the Republic of Sri Lanka and of the Maldives and was honoured by her Majesty Queen Beatrix by being made an Officer in the Order of Orange Nassau in 1985. He was chairman of the Colombo Stock Exchange. He was president of the Institute of Management of Sri Lanka and had also been the President of the Colombo YMCA. He was chairman of the Salvation Army Advisory Board. He was chairman of the National St. John Council for Sri Lanka and in June 1978 he was made Knight of The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Sovereign Head of the Order. He was Chairman of the Incorporated Trustees of the Church of England in Ceylon and a Trustee of the Royal College Union Trust. Mr. Wijesinghe had been Chairman of the Employers' Federation of Ceylon (1960-71), Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (1964-70) and Chairman of the Colombo Brokers' Association (1960, 1965, 1970 and 1984). He was also Founder President of the Federation of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Sri Lanka (1970-77) and the Founder Chairman of the Ceylon Hotels Corporation (1967-70). In 1972 Mr. Wijesinghe led a trade delegation from Sri Lanka to Bangladesh and Pakistan. In 1983 he was a member of the trade delegation to South America led by the Minister of Trade and Shipping Lalith Athulathmudali. At international level, Mr. Wijesinghe was an Employer Delegate from Ceylon to the ILO Annual Conferences in Geneva in 1964, 1966 and 1969 and a member of the Governing Body of the ILO from 1966-74. Mr. Wijesinghe was a delegate from Ceylon to the Duke of Edinburgh's Study Conference in Australia in 1968. He is also a member of the Commonwealth Study Conference Association (C.S.C.A) and attended the reunion of members held in Australia in May 1986. He also attended the Asian Association of Management Organisation (AAMO) Conference in Adelaide (1980), Penang (1983 and Bangkok (1986). He was Director-General of the first National Management Conference to be held in Sri Lanka in January 1984. The theme of the conference was "The Role of Management in National Development". He is the author of the following publications: "The Economy of Sri Lanka 1948-75", "Sri Lanka's Development Thrust 1977-80". "Mr. Wijesinghe, we are proud to salute your memory. You were a unique individual who had the guts and determination to make a difference to all our lives." - Employees of Bartleet Group of Companies |
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