Gajendrakumar_Ponnambalam

Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam

Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam

Sri Lankan lawyer, politician and Member of Parliament

Gajendrakumar Gangaser Ponnambalam (Tamil: கஜேந்திரகுமார் காங்கேசர் பொன்னம்பலம், romanized: Kajēntirakumār Kāṅkēcar Poṉṉampalam; born 16 January 1974) is a Sri Lankan lawyer, politician and Member of Parliament.[1] He is the leader of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, a member of the Tamil National People's Front.[2]

Quick Facts Hon.MP, Member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka ...

Early life and family

Ponnambalam was born on 16 January 1974.[1] He is the son of Kumar Ponnambalam and grandson of G. G. Ponnambalam, both leaders of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC).[3][4] He was educated at Royal College, Colombo and the Colombo International School.[3][5] After school he joined SOAS, University of London, graduating with a LL.B. degree in 1995.[3][5]

Career

Ponnambalam qualified as a barrister-at-law from Lincoln's Inn and was called to the bar of England and Wales in 1997.[3] Returning to Sri Lanka, he qualified as an attorney-at-law and was called to the bar of Sri Lanka in 1999.[3]

Ponnambalam entered politics following the assassination of his father on 5 January 2000.[3] On 20 October 2001 the ACTC, Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front, Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization and Tamil United Liberation Front formed the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).[6][7] Ponnambalam contested the 2001 parliamentary election as one of the TNA's candidates in Jaffna District and was elected to the Parliament.[8] He was re-elected at the 2004 parliamentary election.[9] In March 2010 Ponnambalam, along with fellow TNA MPs S. Kajendran and Pathmini Sithamparanathan, left the TNA and formed the Tamil National People's Front (TNPF).[10][11]

Ponnambalam contested the 2010 parliamentary election as a TNPF candidate in Jaffna District but the TNPF failed to win any seats in Parliament.[12][13] In February 2011 Ponnambalam became one of the vice-presidents of the TNPF.[14] He contested the 2015 parliamentary election as a TNPF candidates in Jaffna District but, again, the TNPF failed to win any seats in Parliament.[15][16]

Ponnambalam contested the 2020 parliamentary election as a TNPF candidate in Jaffna District and was re-elected to the Parliament of Sri Lanka.[17][18][19]

Ponnambalam has extensive shareholdings in several companies listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange - either directly or through family owned companies Gee Gees Properties (Pvt) Ltd and Gitanjali Gajaluckshmi (Pvt) Ltd - including Serendib Land PLC (property developer), LOLC Holdings PLC/Lanka ORIX Leasing Company (leasing, factoring and microfinance) and Bukit Darah PLC (palm oil).[20][21][22]

Electoral history

More information Election, Constituency ...

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "Directory of Members: G. G. Ponnambalam". Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, Sri Lanka: Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  2. [2]
    "Kumar Ponnambalam memorial held in Vavuniya". Tamil Guardian. 9 January 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  3. [3]
    Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (4 August 2015). "Tiger Diaspora backs Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam". The Daily Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  4. [4]
    "Gajendrakumar threatened". Ceylon Today. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 3 May 2013. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015.
  5. [5]
    Gnanadass, Wilson (30 December 2001). "We suspected the PA government – Gajen". The Sunday Leader. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  6. [6]
    Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (27 March 2010). "Tamil National Alliance enters critical third phase – 1". The Daily Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010.
  7. [7]
    "Tamil parties sign MOU". TamilNet. 20 October 2001. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  8. [8]
    "Parliamentary General Election - 2001 - Preferences" (PDF). Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka: Department of Elections. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2010.
  9. [9]
    "Parliamentary General Election - 2004 - Preferences" (PDF). Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka: Department of Elections. p. 189. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2010.
  10. [10]
    Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (17 April 2010). "T.N.A. Performs creditably in parliamentary elections". The Daily Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 28 April 2010.
  11. [11]
    "Tamil National Peoples Front launched in Jaffna". TamilNet. 1 March 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  12. [12]
    "Part I : Section (I) — General - Government Notifications - The Parliamentary Elections Act, No. 1 of 1981 - Notice Under Section 24(1) - General Elections of Members of the Parliament" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. No. 1643/07. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 2 March 2010. p. 205A. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 November 2014.
  13. [13]
    "Results of Parliamentary General Election – 2010" (PDF). Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka: Election Commission of Sri Lanka. p. 200. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  14. [14]
    "TNPF announces Central Committee, prepares party constitution". TamilNet. 24 February 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  15. [15]
    "Part I : Section (I) — General - Government Notifications - The Parliamentary Elections Act, No. 1 of 1981 - Notice Under Section 24(1) - General Elections of Members of the Parliament" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. No. 1923/3. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 13 July 2015. p. 236A. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  16. [16]
    "Parliamentary Election - 2015 - Composition of the Parliamant". Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka: Department of Elections. p. 5. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015.
  17. [17]
    "Part I : Section (I) — General - Government Notifications - Parliamentary Elections Act, No. 1 of 1981" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. No. 2187/26. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 8 August 2020. p. 5A. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  18. [18]
    "General Election 2020: Preferential votes of Jaffna District". Ceylon Today. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  19. [19]
    Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (8 August 2020). "TNA suffers electoral setback in North and East polls". The Daily Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  20. [20]
    "Quarterly Financial Statements for the Three Months Period Ended June 30, 2020" (PDF). Colombo Stock Exchange. Colombo, Sri Lanka: Serendib Land PLC. p. 8. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  21. [21]
    "Interim Condensed Financial Statements for the Three Months Ended 30 June 2020" (PDF). Colombo Stock Exchange. Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka: LOLC Holdings PLC. p. 17. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  22. [22]
    "Interim Condensed Interim Financial Statements for the Period Ended 30th June 2020" (PDF). Colombo Stock Exchange. Colombo, Sri Lanka: Bukit Darah PLC. p. 20. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  23. [23]
    "General Election Preferential Votes". Daily News. Colombo Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka. 8 August 2020. p. 2. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
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