Career
He was appointed as Head Mudaliyar and the chief native representative, interpreter and adviser to the Governor of Ceylon, therefore was one of the most powerful personalities in British colonial Ceylon. Born to Sir James Peter Obeyesekere I, Barrister and Corneliya Henrietta Dias Bandaranaike. Educated at South. Thomas" College, Mutwal and at Trinity College, Cambridge gaining a Master of Arts, he became a Barrister and on his return to Ceylon became an advocate of the Supreme Court of Ceylon.
Joining the government service, he served as a District Commissioner and was later appointed as Head Mudaliyar, becoming the last to hold the post.