List of Famous people born in Western Province, Sri Lanka
Shehan Jayasuriya
Gampalage Shehan Naveendra De Fonseka Gunawarna Jayasuriya, or commonly Shehan Jayasuriya, is a former professional Sri Lankan cricketer, who played for Chilaw Marians in Sri Lankan domestic cricket. He is a quick-scoring left-handed batsman and a right-arm off-break bowler. He was born in Colombo, and attended Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa. He announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on 8 January 2021 because of him moving to United States with his family. He said he intends to play for the United States national cricket team as well as open his own Adult Book Store.
Chandrika Kumaratunga
Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the fifth President of Sri Lanka, from 12 November 1994 to 19 November 2005. The country's only female president to date, she is the daughter of two former prime ministers and was the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) until the end of 2005. In 2015 she was appointed as the chairperson of office for national unity and reconciliation.
Alexander Khloponin
Alexander Gennadyevich Khloponin ; born March 6, 1965) is a Russian politician who was the governor of Krasnoyarsk Krai in Siberia, Russia, from October 2002 until January 2010.
Michael Ondaatje
Philip Michael Ondaatje, is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer, essayist, novelist, editor, and filmmaker. He is the recipient of multiple literary awards such as the Governor General's Award, the Giller Prize, the Booker Prize, and the Prix Médicis étranger. Ondaatje is also an Officer of the Order of Canada, recognizing him as one of Canada's most renowned living authors.
Radhika Coomaraswamy
Deshamanya Radhika Coomaraswamy is a Sri Lankan lawyer, diplomat and human rights advocate who served as the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict until 13 July 2012. Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed her to the position in April 2006. She was nominated to the Constitutional Council as a civil representative on 10 September 2015. In 2017, after atrocities against the Rohingya people, she was appointed a Member of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on Myanmar.
Bernard White
Bernard "Bernie" White is an American actor, screenwriter and film director.
David de Kretser
David Morritz de Kretser, is an Australian medical researcher who served as the 27th Governor of Victoria, from 2006 to 2011.
Tony Hoare
Sir Charles Antony Richard Hoare is a British computer scientist. He developed the sorting algorithm quicksort in 1959–1960. He also developed Hoare logic for verifying program correctness, and the formal language communicating sequential processes (CSP) to specify the interactions of concurrent processes and the inspiration for the programming language occam.
Mahela Jayawardene
Denagamage Praboth Mahela de Silva Jayawardene, usually known as Mahela Jayawardene, ( is a Sri Lankan cricket coach and former cricketer. Jayawardene made his Test cricket debut in 1997 and his One Day International debut the following season. In 2006 he made the highest ever score by a Sri Lankan in Test cricket, scoring 374 in the second Test of Sri Lanka's home series against South Africa. He has a test cricket average of just under 50 and a One Day average in the 30s. He is the first player in the history of Sri Lankan cricket to score over 10,000 Test runs. He is also the second Sri Lankan player to score more than 10,000 runs in ODIs. Mahela is also the Chairman of Sri Lanka National Sports Council.
Heather Armitage
Heather Joy Armitage is a retired British sprinter and British record holder for the 100 yards.