Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam

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]

Hon.
Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam
MP
கஜேந்திரகுமார் பொன்னம்பலம்
ජේන්ද්‍රකුමාර් කැන්ගසර් පොන්නම්බලම්
Ponnambalam in September 2014
Member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka
Assumed office
2020
ConstituencyJaffna District
In office
2001–2010
ConstituencyJaffna District
Personal details
Born
Gajendrakumar Gangaser Ponnambalam

(1974-01-16) 16 January 1974
Political partyAll Ceylon Tamil Congress
Other political
affiliations		Tamil National People's Front
Alma materSOAS, University of London
ProfessionLawyer

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
Electoral history of Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam
Election Constituency Party Alliance Votes Result
2001 parliamentary[8]Jaffna DistrictAll Ceylon Tamil CongressTamil National Alliance29,641Elected
2004 parliamentary[9]Jaffna DistrictAll Ceylon Tamil CongressTamil National Alliance60,770Elected
2010 parliamentaryJaffna DistrictAll Ceylon Tamil CongressTamil National People's FrontNot elected
2015 parliamentaryJaffna DistrictAll Ceylon Tamil CongressTamil National People's FrontNot elected
2020 parliamentary[23]Jaffna DistrictAll Ceylon Tamil CongressTamil National People's Front31,658Elected

See also

References
  1. "Directory of Members: G. G. Ponnambalam". Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, Sri Lanka: Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  2. "Kumar Ponnambalam memorial held in Vavuniya". Tamil Guardian. 9 January 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  3. Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (4 August 2015). "Tiger Diaspora backs Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam". The Daily Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  4. "Gajendrakumar threatened". Ceylon Today. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 3 May 2013. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015.
  5. Gnanadass, Wilson (30 December 2001). "We suspected the PA government – Gajen". The Sunday Leader. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  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. "Tamil parties sign MOU". TamilNet. 20 October 2001. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  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. "Parliamentary General Election - 2004 - Preferences" (PDF). Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka: Department of Elections. p. 189. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2010.
  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. "Tamil National Peoples Front launched in Jaffna". TamilNet. 1 March 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  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. "Results of Parliamentary General Election – 2010" (PDF). Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka: Election Commission of Sri Lanka. p. 200. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  14. "TNPF announces Central Committee, prepares party constitution". TamilNet. 24 February 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  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. "Parliamentary Election - 2015 - Composition of the Parliamant". Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka: Department of Elections. p. 5. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015.
  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. "General Election 2020: Preferential votes of Jaffna District". Ceylon Today. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  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. "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. "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. "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. "General Election Preferential Votes". Daily News. Colombo Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka. 8 August 2020. p. 2. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
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