M. Rajendra

Murugeysen Rajendra (4 July 1911 10 March 1991) was a leading Ceylonese civil servant.

M. Rajendra

Born(1911-07-04)4 July 1911
Died10 March 1991(1991-03-10) (aged 79)
Alma materCeylon University College
OccupationCivil servant
TitleTreasury Secretary
Term15 November 1968 6 May 1971
PredecessorH. J. Samarakkody
SuccessorC. A. Coorey

Early life

Rajendra was born on 4 July 1911 in British Malaya.[1][2] He was the son of Visvanathan Murugeysen, who hailed from Vaddukoddai in northern Ceylon, an officer in the British colonial administration, and head of the telegraph office in Kuala Lumpur.[1][2] Rajendra had his early education at the Victoria Institution before being sent to Ceylon along with his brother Tiruchelvam to study at S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia.[1][2] The brothers were placed under the guardianship of S. J. V. Chelvanayakam.[3] At St. Thomas, he was a close friend of Dudley Senanayake, later Prime Minister.[2] After school Rajendra joined the Ceylon University College, graduating in 1933 with a BA honours degree in history.[1][2][4]

Rajendra married Neela, a daughter of G. Wignarajah.[1][2] They had two sons (Jayantha and Ajita) and a daughter (Malathy).[1][2]

Career

Rajendra joined the Ceylon Civil Service as a cadet on 12 December 1934.[1][2] He was Assistant Government Agent in Matara, Hambantota, Chilaw, Kandy, and Nuwara Eliya before becoming Government Agent of Eastern Province (1 August 1949 to 6 March 1950) and Government Agent of North Central Province in 1951.[1][2][5] He was Lands and Land Development Commissioner from 1954 to 1959.[1][2] He was later permanent secretary at the Ministry of Post, Broadcasting and Information, and Ministry of Nationalised Services.[1] He was Treasury Secretary and Head of the Public Service from 1968 to 1971.[1][2][6]

Later life

After retirement Rajendra was chairman of the Freedom from Hunger Foundation and a member of the Monetary Board (1971–77).[1][2] He died on 10 March 1991.[1][2]

References

  1. Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon. p. 156.
  2. "His sheer personality dominated any situation". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 10 July 2011.
  3. Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (24 November 2007). "Murugeysen Tiruchelvam: Strategist-Statesman of the Federal Party". transcurrents.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. Ceylon University College Prospectus 1936-37. Ceylon University College. 1936. p. 60.
  5. "List of Former Government Agent". Batticaloa District Secretariat.
  6. "Secretaries to the Treasury". Ministry of Finance (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 2015-01-28.
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