Sunday Times 2
The President we never had
“My late uncle Upali’s signature facet was his love for speed. This he applied in expanding his business empire. He bought a Lear Jet and obtained the Red Passport as Chairman of GCEC because he was a man for speed and a fast decision maker. Even his other indulgences including his love for Horse and Car Racing reflected this,” recollects nephew, Dhammika Attygalle who was 18 at the time of his uncle’s disappearance and is now a Director of the Upali Group of Companies.
Upali Wijewardene was an aviation enthusiast
Sporting the famous ‘Red and Gold Cross Slash’, Wijewardene’s Rasa Penang, Varron, Kandos-Man, General Atty, King of Zulu and Cornwall Garden shone at Royal Ascot, Singapore Derby, Perak Derby, ridden by none other than Lester Piggot. One time Chairman of the Board of Stewards of the Sri Lanka Turf Club, he would even do a tarmac transfer to his helicopter and would make it to Nuwara Eliya, sometimes just minutes before races were to start. Wijewardene’s dream was to win the Royal Derby which was scheduled to be held in the month of June and to be the first Asian to win this most prestigious Horse Race.
The luxury S-Class Mercedes Benz 116 which he imported from Malaysia was the first of its kind in Sri Lanka and used to travel to Nuwara Eliya or Kamburupitiya after dinner to save time and to reach the destination fast.
Upali Wijewardene
Upali Wijewardene started the “Ruhunu Udanaya” movement to develop his maternal home town Kamburupitiya, and to engage in national politics to become President of Sri Lanka after his cousin President J R Jayawardene’s term ended.
“The last time we saw him he was at the Kelaniya Duruthu Perahera where he was the Chief Basnayake Nilame, and at the end of the Perahera he came upto my mother and said “Punchi Akka I am off,” recalled Attygalle.