Renowned businessman Mr. Lalith Kotalawala has passed away.
He was 84 years old when he passed away yesterday while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Colombo.
Born on October 29, 1938 at Ward Place, Colombo, Mr. Lalith Kotalawala’s father is Senator Justin Kotalawala. Mr. Justin was the founder of Ceylon Insurance (later Ceylinco), the first insurance company in Sri Lanka.
His mother was Millicent Kothalawala (née de Silva), daughter of Sir Arthur Marcellus de Silva, a prominent politician and businessman and prominent surgeon. Mr. Lalith is the nephew of the third Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Mr. John Kotalawala. Mr. Lalith Kotalawala also had two sisters, the famous writers Punya Kanthi Wijenayake and Ayoma Wickramasinghe.
Educated at the Royal College of Colombo, he studied Chartered Accountancy in the United Kingdom.
He is a businessman who was included in the richest list of Sri Lanka in 2007.
Mr. Lalith Kotalawala was the former chairman of Ceylinco Consolidated and the founding chairman of Ceylon Bank and was also the chairman of the controversial Golden Key Company recently.