Gunapala Malalasekera

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Gunapala Piyasena Malalasekera
Born	George Pieris Malalasekera 8 November 1899 Malamulla, Panadura, British Ceylon
Died	23 April 1973(1973-04-23) (aged 73) Colombo, Sri Lanka
Nationality	Sri Lankan
Education	St. John's College Panadura
Alma mater	University of London
Occupation(s)	Academic, diplomat
Spouse(s)	Margaret Russell (m. 1927–d. 1930) Lyle Malalasekera
Children	6
Parents	Veda Muhandiram Malalage Siyadoris Peiris Malalasekera Seneviratna (father) Dona Selestina Jayawardene Kuruppu (mother)

Gunapala Piyasena Malalasekera, OBE, JP, KCM (8 November 1899 – 23 April 1973) was a Sri Lankan academic, scholar and diplomat best known for his Malalasekara English-Sinhala Dictionary.^[1] He was Ceylon's first Ambassador to the Soviet Union, Ceylon's High Commissioner to Canada, the United Kingdom and Ceylon's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. He was the Professor Emeritus in Pali and Dean of the Faculty of Oriental Studies.^[2][3]