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Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam

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Honourable
Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam
MP
கஜேந்திரகுமார் பொன்னம்பலம்
Member of Parliament
for Jaffna District
In office
2001–2010
Personal details
Born (1974-01-16) 16 January 1974 (age 50)
Political partyAll Ceylon Tamil Congress
Other political
affiliations		Tamil National People's Front
Alma materSOAS, University of London
ProfessionLawyer
EthnicitySri Lankan Tamil

Gajendrakumar Gangaser Ponnambalam (Template:Lang-ta; born 16 January 1974) is a Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer, politician and former Member of Parliament. He is the leader of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), a member of the Tamil National People's Front (TNPF).[1]

Early life and family

Ponnambalam was born on 16 January 1974.[2] He is the son of Kumar Ponnambalam and grandson of G. G. Ponnambalam, leading Tamil politicians.[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 All Ceylon Tamil Congress (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. He was elected and entered 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 one of the TNPF's candidates 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 one of the TNPF's candidates in Jaffna District but again the TNPF failed to win any seats in Parliament.[15][16]

Electoral history

Electoral history of Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam
Election Constituency Party Votes Result
2001 parliamentary[8] Jaffna District TNA 29,641 Elected
2004 parliamentary[9] Jaffna District TNA 60,770 Elected
2010 parliamentary Jaffna District TNPF Not elected
2015 parliamentary Jaffna District TNPF Not elected

See also

References

  1. ^ "Kumar Ponnambalam memorial held in Vavuniya". Tamil Guardian. 9 January 2014.
  2. ^ "Directory of Past Members: G. G. Ponnambalam". Parliament of Sri Lanka.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (4 August 2015). "Tiger Diaspora backs Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka).
  4. ^ "Gajendrakumar threatened". Ceylon Today. 3 May 2013.
  5. ^ a b "We suspected the PA government - Gajen". The Sunday Leader. 30 December 2001.
  6. ^ Jeyaraj, D. B. S. "Tamil National Alliance enters critical third phase - 1". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 4 April 2010.
  7. ^ "Tamil parties sign MOU". TamilNet. 20 October 2001.
  8. ^ a b "General Election 2001 Preferences" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
  9. ^ a b "General Election 2004 Preferences" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
  10. ^ Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (17 April 2010). "T.N.A. Performs creditably in parliamentary elections". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 28 April 2010.
  11. ^ "Tamil National Peoples Front launched in Jaffna". TamilNet. 1 March 2010.
  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. 1643/07. 2 March 2010.
  13. ^ "Parliamentary General Election - 2010 Jaffna District Final District Result". Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
  14. ^ "TNPF announces Central Committee, prepares party constitution". TamilNet. 24 February 2011.
  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. 1923/03. 13 July 2015.
  16. ^ "Parliamentary Election - 17-08-2015 Electoral District: Jaffna Final District Result". Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
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