Tissa Vitharana
Sri Lankan physician and politician (1934–2026)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vidya Jyothi Upali Tissa Vitharana (30 August 1934 – 13 February 2026) was a Sri Lankan physician and politician who was a Member of Parliament and a cabinet minister. He was the leader of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) and served as Governor of North Central Province from 2019 to 2020.
Tissa Vitharana | |
|---|---|
| තිස්ස විතාරණ திஸ்ஸ விதாரண | |
| Governor of North Central Province | |
| In office December 2019 – 23 March 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Sarath Ekanayake |
| Succeeded by | Maheepala Herath |
| Minister of Science and Technology | |
| In office April 2004 – April 2010 | |
| Succeeded by | Himself (as Minister of Technology and Research) |
| Minister of Technology and Research | |
| In office May 2010 – November 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Himself (as Minister of Science and Technology) |
| Succeeded by | Pavithra Devi Wanniarachchi |
| Senior Minister of Scientific Affairs | |
| In office November 2010 – 12 January 2015 | |
| Member of Parliament for National List | |
| In office 2020–2024 | |
| In office 2004–2015 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 30 August 1934 Nuwara Eliya, British Ceylon |
| Died | 13 February 2026 (aged 91) Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, Sri Lanka |
| Party | Lanka Sama Samaja Party |
Other political affiliations | Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna |
| Alma mater | University of Ceylon University of London |
| Occupation | Physician |
Early life and family
Vitharana was born 30 August 1934 in Nuwara Eliya in central British Ceylon.[1][2] He was the son of Pieris Vitharana, a Public Works Department engineer, and N. P. Maggie Perera, sister of N. M. Perera.[2][3] He was educated at Trinity College, Kandy and Ananda College, Colombo.[2][4] He played cricket for both schools.[2][3] After school, he joined the University of Ceylon's medical faculty in Colombo, graduating in 1959 with a MBBS degree.[2][3][5] Vitharana captained the university's cricket team in 1957/58 and took part in the Sara Trophy Tournament.[2][3]
Career
After university, Vitharana worked as a medical officer (1959–67), and was registrar at Colombo General Hospital in 1963-64.[2][5] His post-graduate work earned him an MD degree in clinical medicine from the University of Ceylon in 1965.[5] He then went to study in the UK, obtaining a Diploma in Bacteriology from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in 1968 and a Ph.D. in virology from the University of London in 1971.[3][5][6] Specialising in bacteriology and virology, Vitharana joined the Medical Research Institute (MRI) in Colombo in 1972, serving as its director from 1983 to 1994.[2][3][5] He was head of the virology department at the MRI from 1972 to 1994.[3][5] Vitharana was a consultant virologist at the Edinburgh City Hospital's Regional Virus Laboratory in the 1980s.[5] He was deputy director of the Victoria Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory in Melbourne from 1991 to 1993.[5]
Political career
Following retirement in 1994, Vitharana was a professor of microbiology at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura from 1995 to 2000, and an adviser to the Minister of Science and Technology from 1994 to 2001.[3][5]
Vitharana joined the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) in 1974.[1] On 20 January 2004, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) formed the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA).[7] The Communist Party of Sri Lanka CPSL and LSSP joined the UPFA in February 2004.[8][9] Vitharana was appointed a UPFA National List MP in the Sri Lankan Parliament following the 2004 parliamentary election.[10] He was appointed Minister of Science and Technology after the election.[11][12]
Vitharana was re-appointed a UPFA National List MP following the 2010 parliamentary election.[13][14] He lost his cabinet position after the election but shortly afterwards, in May 2010, he was appointed Minister of Technology and Research.[15][16] He was promoted to Senior Minister of Scientific Affairs in November 2010.[17][18][19] He lost his cabinet position following the 2015 presidential election.[20]
At the 2015 parliamentary election, Vitharana was placed on the UPFA's list of National List candidates.[21][20] However, after the election he was not appointed to the National List.[22][23]
Vitharana was awarded the Vidya Jyothi title in 2017.[24][25]
On 4 December 2019, Vitharana was appointed Governor of the North Central Province, Sri Lanka.[26] He was sworn in before President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.[27]