Former Minister Professor Tissa Witharana Passes Away

COLOMBO (News 1st): Professor Tissa Witharana, a former Minister and former General Secretary of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party has passed away.

He was at the age of 91 at the time of his demise. 

Professor Tissa Witharana was a prominent figure in Sri Lanka's left-wing politics.

Witharana, who was Born on August 30, 1934, in Nuwara Eliya was highly respected academic. He earned his medical degree from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sri Lanka, at the time University of Ceylon in 1959.

A leading expert in bacteriology and virology, he obtained his PhD in Virology from the University of London in 1971.

He joined the Medical Research Institute (MRI) in Colombo in 1972 and served as its Director from 1983 to 1994.

Tissa Witharana entered Parliament as a National List MP for the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) following the 2004 elections and served as the Minister of Science and Technology.

Re-entered Parliament via the National List after the 2010 elections.

His tenure as a Member of Parliament spanned 15 years.

In recognition of his vast contributions to the medical field, he was honored with the Vidya Jyothi award in 2017.