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← 1978 1977 1976 1979 in Sri Lanka → 1980 1981 1982
Decades:	1970s 1980s 1990s
See also:	Other events of 1979 Timeline of Sri Lankan history

The following lists notable events that occurred during 1979 in Sri Lanka.

Incumbents

• President – J. R. Jayewardene
• Prime Minister – Ranasinghe Premadasa
• Chief Justice – Neville Samarakoon

Events

• Sri Lanka defeated India in the ICC World Cup. They were the winners of the inaugural ICC Trophy, ahead of the cricket World Cup.
• Ethnic tensions and political unrest increase, as the Tamil minority realize their political party is having minimal success in the south.

Births

• 4 January – Chamila Gamage, cricketer.
• 27 February – Sanjaya Rodrigo, cricketer.
• 28 February – Dinesh Lalinda, cricketer.
• 2 March – Dharshana Gamage, cricketer.
• 28 March – Duminda Dissanayake, politician.
• 30 March – Malaka Dewapriya, film maker.
• 2 April – Amila Perera, cricketer.
• 13 May – Krishantha Ukwatte, cricketer.
• 26 May – Malinda Warnapura, cricketer.
• 22 June – Buddhika Mendis, cricketer.
• 10 July – Dinesh Subasinghe, musician.
• 11 July – Nisitha Rupasinghe, cricketer.
• 19 July – Dilhara Fernando, cricketer.
• 29 July – Chaminda Ruwan, cricketer.
• 10 August – Dinusha Fernando, cricketer.
• 14 August – Ranga Dias, cricketer.
• 11 September – Thuwan Raheem, footballer.
• 28 September – Mahesh Bogahalanda, cricketer.
• 6 October – Chanuka Bandara, cricketer.
• 7 October – Sujeewa de Silva, cricketer.
• 9 October – Prasanna Jayawardene, cricketer.
• 14 October – Hasantha Fernando, cricketer.
• 26 October – Indika Basnayake, cricketer.
• 29 October – Duminda Perera, cricketer.
• 2 December – Manju Wanniarachchi, boxer.
• 4 December – Wenura Caldera, cricketer.
• 14 December – Chamara Silva, cricketer.
• 17 December – Upekha Fernando, cricketer.
• 31 December – Malinga Bandara, cricketer.

Deaths

• 17 February – K. Alvapillai, civil servant (b. 1905).
• 23 May – S. Selvanayagam, geographer and academic (b. 1932).
• 14 August – N. M. Perera, politician (b. 1905).
• 15 September – Don Carlin Gunawardena, academic (b. 1899).
• 28 December – Dommie Jayawardena, actor and singer (b. 1927).
• Unknown date – I. J. Wickrema, trade unionist (b. 1922).

References

1. "World Cup 1979: India suffer shocking defeat against Sri Lanka". 18 June 2013.
2. Gunaratna, Rohan (1998). Sri Lanka's Ethnic Crisis and National Security. South Asian Network on Conflict Research. p. 353. ISBN 955-8093-00-9.
3. Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon (PDF). p. 3.
4. Sri Kantha, Sachi. "Alvapillai: A Silent Axle of the Colonial and Post-colonial Ceylon Administration". Ilankai Tamil Sangam.
5. The Glowing Tributes Paid to Late Prof. S. Selvanayagam (PDF).

• 1979 in Sri Lanka
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• Years of the 20th century in Sri Lanka