George Rajapaksa

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.

Hon.

George Rajapaksa
Member of the Sri Lankan Parliament
for Mulkirigala
In office
1960–1976
Preceded bySeat created
Succeeded byLakshman Rajapaksa
Personal details
Born25 December 1926
Died18 June 1976(1976-06-18) (aged 49)
NationalitySri Lankan
Political partySri Lanka Freedom Party
Spouse(s)Lalitha née Samarasekara
Relations
ChildrenNirupama (daughter)
Shyamlal (son)
Alma materRichmond College (Sri Lanka)
Royal College, Colombo
OccupationPolitics
ProfessionLawyer, politician

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
  1. "Hon. Rajapaksa, George, M.P." Directory of Past members. Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  2. 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.
  3. "D. M. Rajapaksa: the Lion of Ruhuna". Daily News. 7 November 2011. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  4. Wijesinha, Sam (15 June 1997). "George the pensive intellect : George Rajapakse". Sunday Times. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  5. Bandaranaike, Anura. "George Rajapakse". The Island. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  6. Jiggins, Janice (1979). Caste and Family Politics Sinhalese 1947-1976. Cambridge University Press. pp. 102–103. ISBN 9780521220699.
  7. "Result of Parliamentary General Election 19 March 1960" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  8. "Result of Parliamentary General Election 20 July 1960" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  9. "List of Ministers and Deputy Ministers - Ministry of Finance and Planning". Ministry of Finance (Sri Lanka). Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  10. "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1965" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  11. "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1970" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  12. Sri Lanka Year Book 1975 (PDF). Department of Census and Statistics, Sri Lanka. pp. 18–19.
  13. "Result of Parliamentary By Election 1976" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  14. "Hon. (Mrs.) Nirupama Rajapaksa, M.P." Directory of Members. Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  15. Wijesinha, Sam (3 September 2011). "Shyamlal Rajapaksa (11th July 1966 to 12th August 2009)". The Island. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
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