I. X. Pereira

Dewan Bahadur Chevalier Ignatius Xavier Pereira KCSS (26 April 1888 – 21 July 1951) was a colonial-era Ceylonese businessman and politician.

In 1924, Pereira was elected to the Legislative Council of Ceylon, winning the seat reserved for the Indian community by a substantial majority, defeating Mohamed Sultan.

In 1930, he travelled to London and met with the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Sidney Webb, regarding minority representation in the proposed Donoughmore Constitution.

He also served as the Minister of Labour, Industry and Commerce when Sir Claude Corea left to take up a position as the Ceylonese Representative to the United Kingdom in 1946.

In the same year Pope Pius XII invested him into the Papal Knighthood and made him the Knight Commander of the Order of Saint Sylvester, for his philanthropy and services to the church.