Carlo Fonseka

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Carlo Fonseka
කාලෝ ෆොන්සේකා
Born(1933-03-04)March 4, 1933
Colombo, Ceylon
DiedSeptember 2, 2019(2019-09-02) (aged 86)
Colombo
NationalitySri Lankan
Alma materMaris Stella College, Negombo
St. Joseph's College, Colombo 10
University of Ceylon
University of Edinburgh
OccupationAcademic
TitlePresident, Sri Lanka Medical Council.
TermJanuary 2012 – June 2017
PredecessorLalitha Mendis
Political partyLanka Sama Samaja Party

Carlo Fonseka (Sinhala: කාලෝ ෆොන්සේකා Kālō Fonsēkā; 4 March 1933 – 2 September 2019)[1] was a Sri Lankan physician, academic and political activist. He was a former dean of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya and a former president of the Sri Lanka Medical Council.

Early life and family[edit]

Fonseka was born on 4 March 1933 in Colombo, Ceylon.[2] His family were Roman Catholics.[3][4] He was educated at Maris Stella College, Negombo and St. Joseph's College, Colombo.[2][5][6] After school he joined the University of Ceylon's Faculty of Medicine in Colombo in 1955, graduating in 1960 with a first class MBBS degree.[7][8][9]

Career[edit]

After graduating Fonseka joined the Colombo General Hospital as an intern under professor K. Rajasuria and senior surgeon Dr. Noel Bartholomeusz.[8] He then joined the base hospital in Mirigama, near his home village of Divulapitiya, as a medical officer.[8] In 1962 Fonseka joined the University of Ceylon's Department of Physiology as a lecturer.[8] He joined the University of Edinburgh's Department of Physiology in 1964 to pursue his doctoral studies, obtaining a Ph.D. in 1966.[8][9]

Fonseka returned to the University of Ceylon's Department of Physiology in 1967.[8] He was a professor at the department from 1982 and 1989.[10] The North Colombo Medical College (NCMC), a private medical school, was nationalised in 1989 and in 1991 became the Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya with Fonseka as its first dean.[7][11] He served as dean until 1997.[12] He was chairman of the Board of Management of the University of Colombo's Postgraduate Institute of Medicine from 1996 to 1997 and from 1998 to 2001.[13] The University of Colombo appointed Fonseka as an emeritus professor in July 2000.[14] He was also appointed emeritus professor by the University of Kelaniya.[15]

Fonseka was appointed president of the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) in January 2012.[16][17][18] The appointment was opposed by the Sri Lanka Medical Faculty Students' Action Committee alleging that it had been made under political influence.[19] Fonseka's tenure at the SLMC was to end in December 2016 but the government extended it by six months.[18][20] Fonseka resigned at the end of June 2017.[18][20]

Fonseka was a prominent member of the Trotskyist Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP).[21][22] He was a member of the party's central committee and politburo and led its branch in Kotte.[23][24][25] Fonseka was a vocal critic of private medical education and campaigned against the NCMC in the early 1980s.[26] Whilst president of the SLMC he was highly critical of the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM), a private medical school.[27][28][29] After leaving the SLMC Fonseka claimed he would work to "topple the government" on the SAITM issue.[30]

Fonseka received a M.A. degree from the University of Kelaniya in 1999.[31] He was a fellow of the Ceylon College of Physicians and the Sri Lanka College of General Practitioners.[32] He has served as president of the Arts Council of Sri Lanka, chairman of the Vijaya Kumaratunga Memorial Hospital, chairman of the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol and was a member of the University Grants Commission.[33][34][35] Fonseka was one of six South-East Asia Region awardees of the World No Tobacco Day 2012 Awards.[36] He was a lyricist and composer and has produced a number of albums including Carlochita Gee (1992), Raththaran Duwe (2006)[37][38][39][40][41] and Koida Kiya (2015).[42]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Professor Carlo Fonseka passed away
  2. ^ a b "Prof. Carlo Fonseka celebrates his 80th birthday". Independent Television Network News. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 4 March 2013. Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  3. ^ Jayasinghe, Shyamon (19 November 2016). "A lifetime of scientific thinking". The Island. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  4. ^ Pinto, Leonard (2015). Being a Christian in Sri Lanka: Historical, Political, Social, and Religious Considerations. Balboa Press. ISBN 978-1-4525-2863-2.
  5. ^ "Maris Stella College Day". The Nation. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 27 May 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  6. ^ "Annual Prize Giving". The Sunday Times. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 19 August 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  7. ^ a b Gunatilleke, Nadira (4 January 2017). "Prof. Carlo Fonseka appointed SLMC President". Daily News. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Fonseka, Carlo (7 September 2014). "Memories of the Physiology Department of the Colombo Medical School". The Island. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  9. ^ a b Hoole, Ratnajeevan (10 November 2016). "Book Reviews: Essays of a Lifetime" (PDF). Current Science. 111 (9). Bangalore, India: 1548–1550. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  10. ^ "History". Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo. Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  11. ^ Hewavissenti, Panchamee (23 July 2017). "Private medical education fraught with corruption – Prof. Carlo Fonseka". Ceylon Today. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  12. ^ "Celebrating the Golden Jubilee of Carlo Fonseka, a Medical Educator". The Island. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 4 March 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  13. ^ "Chairpersons of Board of Management". Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo. Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  14. ^ "Emeritus Professors". University of Colombo. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  15. ^ Fonseka, Carlo (29 January 2008). "Generic drugs and branded drugs". The Island. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  16. ^ "About us". Sri Lanka Medical Council. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  17. ^ "Members of the Sri Lanka Medical Council". Sri Lanka Medical Council. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  18. ^ a b c Yapa, Ayshwarya (30 June 2017). "Prof. Carlo Fonseka's term of office comes to an end". Ada Derana. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  19. ^ "Sri Lanka medical students to protest against new Medical Council president". Colomo Page. Indianapolis, U.S.A. 4 January 2012. Archived from the original on 4 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  20. ^ a b Jayawardhane, Kalathma (30 June 2017). "Prof Carlo Fonseka ends tenure as SLMC Chairman". The Daily Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  21. ^ Fernando, Laksiri (23 March 2016). "A Tribute to Carlo Fonseka". The Island. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  22. ^ Jasentuliyana, Nandasiri (2016). Same Sky, Different Nights. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-5246-0042-6.
  23. ^ "LSSP- Oldest political party never charged with malpractices – Prof. Vitarana". The Sunday Times. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 2 October 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  24. ^ "UNP back in Mendis muddle". The Sunday Times. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 2 May 1999. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  25. ^ Wilton, Greg (14 October 1996). "Adjournment: Fonseka, Professor Carlo". House Hansard. Australian House of Representatives. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  26. ^ Salgado, Miran (12 February 2017). "Should we abolish private medical education in Sri Lanka?". The Sunday Times. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  27. ^ Silva, Manushi (17 November 2015). "Dr. Neville Fernando To Sue Prof. Carlo Fonseka". Daily News. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  28. ^ Fernando, Laksiri (24 December 2012). "Apparent Bias And Prejudice Of Prof Carlo Fonseka". Colombo Telegraph. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  29. ^ Perera, Kusal (10 February 2017). "SAITM: beware of becoming a bite". The Daily Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  30. ^ Jayawardhane, Kalathma (2 September 2017). "SAITM issue: Carlo vows to topple govt". The Daily Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  31. ^ "Professor Carlo Fonseka admitted to hospital". Daily News. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 24 February 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  32. ^ Fonseka, Carlo (30 January 2008). "Generic drugs and branded drugs". The Island. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  33. ^ "Musicians honoured at Temple Trees". news.lk. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 1 September 2011. Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  34. ^ Jayasekera, Sandun A. (19 February 2014). "MR determined to save millions from tobacco menace: Carlo". The Daily Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  35. ^ "CSHR Board of Management". Centre for the Study of Human Rights, University of Colombo. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  36. ^ "World No Tobacco Day 2012 Awards - the winners". World Health Organization. Archived from the original on June 17, 2013. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  37. ^ Basnayake, V. (24 October 2001). "'Impersonal interests' for happiness". The Island. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  38. ^ "Kala Korner: A rare gem from Professor Carlo". The Sunday Times. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 2 July 2006. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  39. ^ Karunaratne, R. S. (21 June 2006). "Carlo comes with Raththaran Duwe". Daily News. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  40. ^ Basnayake, V. (13 August 2006). "Artistry and Carlo Fonseka". The Island. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  41. ^ Raththaran Duwe - Nanda Malini & Rohana Weerasinghe, June 15, 2013, retrieved 2019-09-10
  42. ^ Koida kiya manda kiya කොයිද කියා by Prof. Carlo Fonseka, retrieved 2019-09-10
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