James Aubrey Martensz

Hon.
James Aubrey Martensz
CBE, JP
Member of the Ceylon Parliament
for Burgher Community (appointed member)
In office
November 1947 – January 1949
Preceded by seat created
1st Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Australia
In office
January 1949 – 1963
Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake
Preceded by position created
Succeeded by Anton Muttukumaru
Personal details
Born (1885-09-25)25 September 1885
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Died 26 March 1963(1963-03-26) (aged 77)
Canberra, Australia
Nationality Ceylonese
Alma mater Royal College, Colombo, Ceylon Law College
Profession lawyer, politician

James Aubrey Martensz CBE JP, UM (25 September 1885 – 26 March 1963) was a Ceylonese lawyer and politician.[1][2]

James Aubrey Martensz was born 25 September 1885, the oldest son, in a family of twelve, to James Andries Martensz (a planter) and Edith Maud née de Saram.[3] He received his education at Royal College, Colombo and then the Ceylon Law College, where he qualified as a Proctor. Marthensz served for a number of years as the private secretary to Justice Wendt and in 1908 was admitted to the bar. He then joined the legal firm of F. J. & G. de Saram, eventually becoming a senior partner in the firm. He was created a Justice of the Peace and Unofficial magistrate.[4]

Following Ceylon’s first parliamentary elections in 1947, Martensz was appointed as a member of the Ceylon House of Representatives. He was one of six members appointed by the Governor-General, to represent important interests which were not represented or inadequately represented in the House.[5] He officiated as Deputy Chairman of Committees between October 1947 and December 1948,[6] and on one occasion as Speaker of the House. He remained a member of parliament until January 1949, when he was appointed as Ceylon's first High Commissioner in Australia.[3][7][8]

In 1952, he was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire.[9] He subsequently became Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in 1952.[8]

In 1957 he was elected as president of the Dutch Burgher Union of Ceylon, a position in which he served until 1959.[10]

Martensz emigrated to Australia in 1959 and died in Canberra on 26 March 1963.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Hon. Martensz, James Aubrey, M.P." Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  2. ↑ Goonetilleke, T. V. (Ed) (1983). Members of the Legislatures of Sri Lanka, 1931-83: Record of Service. Parliament of Sri Lanka. p. 121.
  3. 1 2 "De Saram - Family #3126". RootsWeb. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  4. ↑ "Ceylon Today". 3 Issue: 3-12. Sri Lanka Prav̥tti Depārtamēntuva. 1954: 60–63.
  5. ↑ "62nd Anniversary of Independence". Daily News. 4 February 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  6. ↑ "Deputy Chairman of Committees". Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  7. ↑ "The Journal of the Dutch Burgher Union" (PDF). Dutch Burgher Union: 149.
  8. 1 2 "Mission and Activities". The High Commission of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 11 February 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  9. ↑ Ceylon list: "No. 39424". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 1951. pp. 45–46.
  10. ↑ "Journal of the Dutch Burgher Union of Ceylon". LXX. Dutch Burgher Union. January–December 2005: 4.
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