Neranjan with his grandfather Sir Edwin Wijeyeratne (former Minister of Home Affairs and Rural Development) in the mid-1950s
Born to Nissanka Wijeyeratne and Nita Dullewe Wijeyeratne, he is the eldest of three brothers and a sister.[2] They are Mano, Anuradha, Lankesh and Nishangani. His father Nissanka Wijeyeratne and grandfather Sir Edwin Wijeyeratne were prominent politicians who had become cabinet ministers and his brothers Mano was a Non-Cabinet Minister of Enterprise Development and Plantation Services and Anuradha is a former provincial councillor and had been the acting Diyawadana Nilame on several occasions. Neranjan Wijeyeratne was educated at Royal College, Colombo.
Diyawadana Nilame
Following his father's footsteps, he was elected Diyawadana Nilame (chief lay custodian) of the Sri Dalada Maligawa, Kandy in March 1985 and served for a total of 20 years, until 2005, being re-elected once again in May 1995. Prior to being named the Diyawadana Nilame he served a term of five years as Basnayake Nilame (lay custodian) of Lankathilaka Maha Vishnu devalaya, Kandy.[3] He was noted for his ability when the temple was restored following the LTTE bombing in 1998.[4][5][6][7] He was also responsible for the construction of the famous 'golden fence' around Sri Dalada maligawa. He set up the Dalada Museum, which houses a historic collection of artifacts related to the Temple of the Tooth and Buddhism in Sri Lanka.[8] The 'Temple of the Tooth Special Development Fund and Sri Dalada Maligawa Buddhist Welfare Fund was set up by him.[9] Meanwhile, the Pallekale Sri Lanka International Buddhist Academy (Thai Sri Lanka International Buddhist Institution) with a modern conference hall that can accommodate up to 1000 guests was established by Neranjan Wijeyeratne while he was Diyawadana Nilame.[10] During his tenure, he maintained close links with Japanese, Chinese, Thai and Myanmar religious dignitaries and played a major role in promoting Sri Lanka's Buddhist heritage.[11][12]
Wedding photoResidence of Neranjan Wijeyeratne Meeduma Walauwa, Rambukkana
Politics
After stepping down as Diyawadana Nilame following his second term, he went into active politics.[13]
Family
He is married to Devika Mediwake, daughter of Dr Laxminath and Chintha Mediwake, and granddaughter of William Gopallawa (first president of Sri Lanka) and has two children, a daughter Mokshana Nerandika Wijeyeratne (Senior environmental specialist, The World Bank (Colombo office, Sri Lanka).[14] and a son, Navindra Wijeyeratne (BS, MS and PhD from University of Central Florida, Florida, US), who is an assistant professor at Florida Polytechnic University, Florida, US.[15]
