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Herbert Dharmarajah Thambiah (14 October 1926 – 4 October 1992) was a Sri Lankan lawyer and judge. He was a Court of Appeal judge, Supreme Court judge and the 39th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka.

Early life and family

Thambiah was born on 14 October 1926. He was the son of C. R. Thambiah, a lawyer from Jaffna in northern Ceylon. He was educated at Jaffna Central College and St. Thomas' College, Colombo. After school he entered University of Ceylon and graduated with an honours degree in economics. He taught at Hartley College for a period. He then entered Ceylon Law College, obtaining a first class in the final examinations. He became an advocate in 1954.

Thambiah married Ranji Appathuari. They had one daughter - Savithri.

Career

After qualifying Thambiah practised law for a while before joining the judicial service. He rose up the ranks and became a Court of Appeal judge in 1978 and Supreme Court judge in 1984. He was appointed Chief Justice in 1991. He was succeeded by G. P. S. de Silva.

Thambiah died on 4 October 1992 at the age of 65.

References

1. ^ Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon. p. 220.
2. "Overview". Judicial Service Commission Secretariat. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.

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• 1926 births
• 1992 deaths
• 20th-century Sri Lankan lawyers
• Alumni of Jaffna Central College
• Alumni of S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia
• Alumni of Sri Lanka Law College
• Alumni of the University of Ceylon
• Ceylonese advocates
• Chief justices of Sri Lanka
• Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka judges
• Faculty of Hartley College
• People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka
• Sri Lankan Tamil people
• Sri Lankan lawyers
• Sri Lankan teachers