Kanthiah Vaithianathan

Sir Kanthiah Vaithianathan CBE (1896–1965) (also spelt Vaidyanathan) was a Ceylonese civil servant, politician, Member of the Senate and Minister of Housing and Social Services.

Senator
Sir Kanthiah Vaithianathan
CBE
Minister of Housing and Social Services
In office
1952–1956
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs and Defence
In office
1947–1952
Personal details
Born1896
Died1965

Civil service career

Having graduated with a BSc from the University of London, he joined the Ceylon Civil Service. In 1947, he became the first Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of External Affairs and Defence of independent Ceylon.

Political career

In 1952, Vaithianathan was appointed by the Governor General to the Senate of Ceylon[1] and appointed Minister of Housing and Social Services.[2] In 1953, he was also given the Industries portfolio following the resignation of G. G. Ponnambalam, Minister of Industries and Fisheries.[2]

Social service

He was the President of the Rotary Club of Colombo, patron of the Colombo Tamil Sangam and one of the founders of the Hindu Educational Society which established the Colombo Hindu College.[3] He was member of the Royal Asiatic Society (Ceylon) Branch.

Honors

Vaithianathan, was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1949 New Year Honours and knighted as a Knight Bachelor in the 1950 Birthday Honours.

Family

He was married to Lady Vaithianathan. His son Mahen Vaithianathan was one of the first diplomats of the Ceylon Overseas Service.[4] He lived at "Senthil", Charles Place, Colombo 3.

References
  1. 1953 Fergusons Ceylon Directory (PDF). Fergusons Directory/.
  2. Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 15: Turbulence in any language". SRI LANKA: THE UNTOLD STORY. Archived from the original on 8 February 2002.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. Neelakandan, Kandiah. "Hindu College, Colombo : Temple of learning Gift out of a challenge accepted with fortitude". Daily News. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  4. Boyle, Richard (2 May 1999). "He went against the flow". Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
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