Editing Harry Jayawardena

Deshamanya[1] Don Harold Stassen Jayawardena (17 August 1942 – 3 February 2025), known as Harry Jayawardena, was a Sri Lankan industrialist. He was the chairman of Melstacorp PLC[2] and was the Honorary Consul General for Denmark in Sri Lanka. Forbes listed him as one of the richest people in Sri Lanka.[3] His daughter Stasshani Jayawardena was appointed as the chairperson of Aitken Space after his death.[4]

Career
Early career
Jayawardena first joined a British-owned tea export firm in Santha as a tea trader.[citation needed] He moved to the government-owned State Trading Corporation (Consolidated Exports), better known as Consolexpo Ltd, becoming the head of the Tea Department, which controlled the monopoly of tea exports of Sri Lanka under the administration of Prime Minister Sirima Bandaranaike in the 1970s.[5][6]

Private sector
After resigning from Consolidated Exports, Jayawardena founded Stassen Exports Limited on 7 September 1977 to export Ceylon Tea.[citation needed] In 1988 Jayawardena's companies became a significant shareholder of the country's largest private commercial bank, Hatton National Bank.[7] These companies later ventured into many other areas. In 1992, his business empire bought a controlling interest in the Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka PLC (DCSL), which was at the time the largest transaction in the Colombo Stock Exchange.[citation needed] In 2007, under Jayawardena's Chairmanship, DCSL became the No. 1 listed company as per the "Business Today" Top 10 rankings.[8][9][10]

Controversy
In December 2006, an alleged attempt to remove the Chairman of the Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka, Jayawardena, then managing director of DCSL, was allegedly quoted as threatening to shoot the chairman.[11] Subsequently, Harry Jayawardena assumed duties as the Chairman of DCSL. The same newspaper alleged that Jayawardena threatened a customs officer, many years back.[12]

Jayawardena announced his voluntary resignation from CPC (Ceylon Petroleum Corporation) on 12, January 2012, a post given by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Due to his personal issues, he announced his resignation.[13]

Business interests
Jayawardena was a major shareholder and Chairman of the board of directors of the following Colombo Stock Exchange companies:[14]

Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka
Lanka Milk Foods – Chairman/Founder
Madulsima Plantations – Chairman/managing director
Balangoda Plantations – Chairman/managing director[15]
Browns Beach Hotels
Aitken Spence
Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings
Melstacorp
Jayawardena had interests in these publicly traded companies:[citation needed]

Hatton National Bank
Development Finance Corporation of Ceylon (DFCC)
And in these private companies:[14][citation needed]

Stassen Group
Milford Exports
Lanka Dairies
Ambewela Livestock Company
Pattipola Livestock Company
Lanka Bell
Continental Insurance Lanka
Bellavantage Pvt Ltd
Death
Jayawardena died in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 3 February 2025, at the age of 82.[16]

Honours
Jayawardena was awarded the title of Deshamanya by the President of Sri Lanka for his services to the industry in 2005.[1] In 2010, he was appointed Knight of the Order of Dannebrog by Queen Margrethe II for his services to Denmark as its Honorary Consul General in Sri Lanka. He received the award for his outstanding and exemplary contribution to Denmark and for fostering bilateral ties between Sri Lanka and Denmark.[17]

Company awards and recognition
Jayawardena was the chairman of both Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka and Aitken Spence, these companies were the first Sri Lankan companies ever to be listed on the Forbes List of best managed companies outside the USA.[18] In 2007, Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka PLC was the sole Sri Lankan company to be listed once again in the Forbes List of Asia's best 200 under a US$1 Billion.[19]

Honorary positions
Jayawardena held honorary positions including the Senior Adviser for International Trade and Foreign Investments to the then Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga.[20] He was a member of Colombo Stock Exchange for many years.[citation needed] He was a member of the Apex Task Force to Rebuild the Nation (TAFREN)[21] established by the President of Sri Lanka after the December 2004 tsunami. He was also appointed Chairman of SriLankan Airlines, Sri Lanka's National carrier,[22] becoming Executive chairman in January 2008.[23]