Sri Lankan politician
George Rajapaksa (25 December 1926 – 18 June 1976) was a Sri Lankan politician. He was the former Cabinet Minister of Health, Fisheries and a Member of Parliament.
Biography
George Rajapaksa was born 25 December 1926,[ 1] the second son of Don Mathew Rajapaksa , who was a member of State Council of Ceylon and the Senate of Ceylon ,[ 2] [ 3] and Emalin (Emalyn) née Weeratunga. He was the nephew of Don Alwin Rajapaksa , founder member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party , and cousin of Mahinda Rajapaksa .
Rajapaska attended Richomd College, Galle and then Royal College, Colombo . Following the death of his father in May 1945 he entered the University of Ceylon and in 1946 the Ceylon Law College .[ 4] He qualified as an Advocate and built up a criminal law practice in the Hambantota District . During this time he also served as the chairman of the Mulkirigala Village Committee.
Rajapaksa entered politics at the age of 34 when he contested the Mulkirigala electorate ,[ 5] representing the People's United Front , at the March 1960 parliamentary elections .[ 6] He was successful securing over 50% of the vote.[ 7] In the subsequent July 1960 General Elections he retained the seat, however this time representing the Sri Lanka Freedom Party , increasing his margin to 68% of the vote.[ 8] He was then appointed as the Deputy Minister of Finance in the Sirimavo Bandaranaike cabinet , a position he retained until June 1962,[ 9] resigning in protest at the government's withdrawal of the subsidy on rice.[ 5] [ 6] He ran again at the parliamentary elections in 1965 holding on to the seat with a reduced margin of 54% of the vote,[ 10] and again at the 1970 parliamentary elections retaining the seat with 57% of the vote.[ 11] Rajapaska was then appointed as the Minister for Fisheries in the second Sirimavo Bandaranaike cabinet .[ 5] [ 6] [ 12] Following which he was also appointed as Minister of Health .[ 5] [ 12]
Following his death in 1976, his older brother Lakshman , selected as the SLFP candidate, was successful in securing the Mulkirigala seat at the subsequent by-election.[ 13]
Mrs.Lalitha Rajapakse (wife of George Rajapaksa)
His daughter Nirupama is a currently a Member of Parliament[ 14] for Hambantota and the former Deputy Minister of Tourism and his son Shyamlal (1966-2009) was a former Provincial Councilor and prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda .[ 15]
See also
References & External links
^ "Hon. Rajapaksa, George, M.P." Directory of Past members . Parliament of Sri Lanka . Retrieved 21 June 2017 .
^ Pathirana, Mahinda; Premasiri, P. H. G. (3 September 2011). "The Rajapaksas' contribution to Lankan politics" . Daily News . Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2017 .
^ "D. M. Rajapaksa: the Lion of Ruhuna" . Daily News . 7 November 2011. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2017 .
^ Wijesinha, Sam (15 June 1997). "George the pensive intellect : George Rajapakse" . Sunday Times . Retrieved 21 June 2017 .
^ a b c d Bandaranaike, Anura. "George Rajapakse" . The Island . Retrieved 21 June 2017 .
^ a b c Jiggins, Janice (1979). Caste and Family Politics Sinhalese 1947-1976 . Cambridge University Press . pp. 102–103. ISBN 9780521220699 .
^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 19 March 1960" (PDF) . Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 21 June 2017 .[permanent dead link ]
^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 20 July 1960" (PDF) . Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 21 June 2017 .[permanent dead link ]
^ "List of Ministers and Deputy Ministers - Ministry of Finance and Planning" . Ministry of Finance (Sri Lanka) . Retrieved 21 June 2017 .
^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1965" (PDF) . Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 21 June 2017 .[permanent dead link ]
^ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1970" (PDF) . Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 21 June 2017 .[permanent dead link ]
^ a b Sri Lanka Year Book 1975 (PDF) . Department of Census and Statistics, Sri Lanka. pp. 18–19.
^ "Result of Parliamentary By Election 1976" (PDF) . Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 21 June 2017 .
^ "Hon. (Mrs.) Nirupama Rajapaksa, M.P." Directory of Members . Parliament of Sri Lanka . Retrieved 21 June 2017 .
^ Wijesinha, Sam (3 September 2011). "Shyamlal Rajapaksa (11th July 1966 to 12th August 2009)" . The Island . Retrieved 21 June 2017 .