Don Alwin Rajapaksa ( si, දොන් ඇල්වින් රාජපක්ෂ; ta, டான் ஆல்வின் ராஜபக்ஷ; 5 November 1905 – 7 November 1967) was a Sri Lankan politician and Member of Parliament who represented the

Beliatta Beliatta is a town located in the Hambantota District of Sri Lanka. Geography It is an inland town, approximately, from the coastal town of Tangalle. Beliatta has the second highest mountain range located in the Beliatta Divisional Secretari ...

electorate in

Hambantota Hambantota ( si, හම්බන්තොට, ta, அம்பாந்தோட்டை) is the main town in Hambantota District, Southern Province, Sri LankaThe prominent Malays (මැලේ) most part of the population is to be partly des ...

district from 1947 to 1965. A founding member of

Sri Lanka Freedom Party The Sri Lanka Freedom Party ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂය, translit=Śrī Laṁkā Nidahas Pakṣaya; ta, இலங்கை சுதந்திரக் கட்சி, translit=Ilaṅkai Cutantirak Ka� ...

and

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

of Agriculture and

Land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various islan ...

Wijeyananda Dahanayake Wijeyananda Dahanayake ( si, විජයානන්ද දහනායක ta, விஜயானந்த தகநாயக்கா; 22 October 1902 – 4 May 1997) was a Sri Lankan politician. He was the Prime Minister of Ceylon from Septe ...

's government, he was the father of two Sri Lankan Presidents;

Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...

and

Gotabhaya Rajapaksa Lieutenant Colonel Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa ( si, නන්දසේන ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ; ta, நந்தசேன கோட்டாபய ராஜபக்ஷ; born 20 June 1949) is a former Sri Lankan military ...

Personal life

Rajapaksa was born on 5 November 1905 in a hamlet called Medamulana and had his early education at Mandaduva School in Weerakatiya. His father Don David Rajapaksa, who held the post of

Vidane Arachchi Vidane Arachchi was an influential post (ranked above an Vidane but below a Muhandiram) in the native headmen system in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) during the colonial era. Appointed by the Government Agent, the holder had much control over the people of ...

in Ihala Valikada Korale, sent him for secondary education to Richmond College,

Galle Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Souther ...

. Having completed his education, he helped his father managing the family estate, which consisted of

paddy field A paddy field is a flooded field (agriculture), field of arable land used for growing Aquatic plant, semiaquatic crops, most notably rice and taro. It originates from the Neolithic rice-farming cultures of the Yangtze River basin in sout ...

s and

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

plantations. He captained the Richmond College cricket team for three years. He was married to Dandina Samarasinghe Dissanayake Palatuwe Hamine. The couple had nine children: Chamal, Jayanthi, Mahinda, Chandra, Basil, Gotabhaya, Dudley, Preethi and Gandani. At the defeat in the 1965 general elections, Rajapaksa not only lost his political power but was also devoid of material wealth. During this period all his children, Chamal, Mahinda, Basil, Gothabhaya and Chandra were studying in Colombo and he found it difficult to meet their expenses. He sold his vehicle, leased his coconut lands and went through enormous hardships to sustain the family. When he fell seriously ill in November 1967, there was no vehicle nearby to take him to hospital. When transport was arranged belatedly his heart condition had worsened. After admission to hospital, he died 7 November 1967.

Political career

He also helped his elder brother Don Mathew, who was the

State Councillor A state councillor () is a high-ranking position within the State Council, the executive organ of the Chinese government (comparable to a cabinet). It ranks immediately below the Vice-Premiers and above the ministers of various departments. Si ...

for Hambantota in attending to affairs of the electorate, gaining experience in politics. D. M. received 17,046 votes in the 1936 State Council election in Hambantota. On his brother's death, Rajapakse was nevertheless reluctant to contest the Hambantota seat at the by-election of 1945. Nevertheless, the politically influential people in the area insisted that he should contest the by-election and were finally successful in dragging him into active politics. He won the seat at the by-election and was included in the Committee on Agriculture and Land in the State Council. This gave him a good opportunity to tackle the problem of landlessness of the peasantry of Giruvapattuva. Rajapaksa adopted a 99-year lease scheme to transfer crown land to landless peasants in plots. For the middle income earners, the land extending from was alienated in the same manner. These measures in fact gave a boost to the paddy and coconut cultivations in Giruva Pattuva. When the first parliamentary general elections were held in 1947 under the new constitution, the former Hambantota electorate was divided into two, namely,

and

Tissamaharama Tissamaharama ( si, තිස්සමහාරාමය , ta, திஸ்ஸமஹாராம) is a town in Hambantota District, Southern Province, Sri Lanka. History It was the capital of the Sinhalese Kingdom of Ruhuna as early as the 3r ...

electorate. Most of Western Giruva Pattuva was included in the Beliatta electorate. Rajapaksa contested in Beliatta on the

United National Party The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...

, obtained 14,007 votes with a majority of 8,022 and won the seat. When

S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike ( si, සොලොමන් වෙස්ට් රිජ්වේ ඩයස් බණ්ඩාරනායක; ta, சாலமன் வெஸ்ட் ரிட்ஜ்வே டயஸ் ப� ...

, disgruntled over the policies of the United National Party, left the party to form the Sri Lanka Freedom Party in 1951, Several parliamentarians, including Rajapaksa,

Herbert Sri Nissanka Herbert Sri Nissanka, QC (also known as ''Nissanka Herbert Mendis'') (7 December 1898 – 26 February 1954) was a Ceylonese lawyer and legislator. Elected to the first post-independence parliament, he was one of the founding members of the Sri ...

and D. S. Goonesekera, followed S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike when he crossed the floor of the house to the opposition benches on 12 July 1951. The Rajapaksas supported Bandaranaike at the general elections of 1952, winning the Beliatta electorate for the SLFP where he defeated his opponent by a majority of 17,382 votes. Later on, in the historic general elections of 1956, Rajapaksa won the seat from Sri Lanka Freedom Party with 26,215 votes, which was 15,335 votes more than the opposition. Then he was elected member of parliament for Beliatta and appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Lands and Land Development. As the Deputy Minister, he paid special attention to agriculture and made every effort to bring economic development not only to Ruhuna but also to the people of the more than of citrus plantations in the undeveloped villages of Sri Lanka. Rajapakse gave his full support to make the Paddy Act a success along with Philip Gunawardena, who was the Minister of Agriculture and Food. On 19 February 1961, he wrote a valuable article in the Silumina newspaper entitled "Katata Rahata Kurakkan" about the symbolism of Rajapaksa's and about the species in Kurakkan and the associated folk poems. In 1959 he was appointed as Cabinet Minister of Agriculture and Lands by Prime Minister

. Rajapaksa's ups and downs in the political arena are follow those of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party at the time. At the general election of 1960 he lost his seat. But when the UNP government was dissolved and the parliamentary elections were held for the second time in July of the same year, Rajapaksa regained his seat at Beliatta with 15,121 votes out of 35,992 and was backbencher of the government led by

Sirimavo Bandaranaike Sirima Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike ( si, සිරිමා රත්වත්තේ ඩයස් බණ්ඩාරනායක; ta, சிறிமா ரத்வத்தே டயஸ் பண்டாரநாயக்கே; 17 April 191 ...

. He was appointed Deputy Chairman of Committees in Parliament and subsequently Deputy Speaker. He lost his seat in the general election of 1965 to his rival, D. P. Atapattu.

Family

Don David Rajapaksa Vidanarachchi He held the colonial post of

in Ihala Valikada Korale, Giruvapattuva in the Hambantota District. Don Mathew Rajapaksa (1897-1945) State councillor for Hambantota District Don Alwin Rajapaksa (1905-1967) He was one of the founder members of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and was also a Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Cabinet Minister.

Family Tree

1. Don David Rajapaksa Vidanarachchi (feudal post) + Dona Gimara Weerakoon Ratnayake ::1.1. Don Mathew Rajapaksa (State Councillor) ::::1.1.1. Lakshman Rajapaksa (Member of Parliament) ::::1.1.2. George Rajapaksa (Member of Parliament, Cabinet Minister of Fisheries) :::::1.1.2.1.

Nirupama Rajapaksa Nirupama Deepika Rajapaksa (born 13 April 1962) is a Sri Lankan politician, a former member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka and a former deputy minister. Biography She herself, a Sinhalese Buddhist is married to an ethnic Tamil Hindu, Thirukk ...

(currently Deputy Minister and Member of Parliament) ::1.2. Don Alwin Rajapaksa (1905-1967) (Member of Parliament, Deputy Minister, Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Cabinet Minister) + Dandina Samarasinghe Dissanayake :::1.2.1. Jayanthi Rajapaksa (1940-) (children: Himal Laleendra Hettiarachchi, Rangani Hettiarachhi) :::1.2.2.

Chamal Rajapaksa Chamal Jayantha Rajapaksa ( Sinhala: චමල් රාජපක්ෂ; Tamil: சமல் ராஜபக்ஷ; born 30 October 1942) is a Sri Lankan politician who was Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka from 2010 to 2015. Previously he ...

(1942-) (Member of Parliament, Cabinet Deputy Minister and Full Minister, former Speaker)
(Children:

Shashindra Rajapaksa Shasheendra Kumara Rajapaksa (known as ''Shasheendra Rajapaksa'') is a Sri Lankan politician. He is a Member of Sri Lankan Parliament for Monaragala District and former State Minister of Paddy and Cereals, Organic Food, Vegetables, Fruits, Chil ...

, Shameendra Rajapaksa) :::1.2.3.

(1945-) (Member of Parliament, Cabinet Minister, Leader of Opposition, Prime Minister, former President of Sri Lanka)
(children:

Namal Rajapaksa Lakshman Namal Rajapaksa ( si, ලක්ශ්මන් නාමල් රාජපක්ෂ; born 10 April 1986; known as Namal Rajapaksa) is a Sri Lankan politician. He is the eldest of son of Sri Lankan former President and Prime Minister M ...

Yoshitha Rajapaksa Lieutenant Commander Yoshitha Rajapaksa (born 12 June 1988) is a Sri Lankan sportsman and former naval officer. He is the son of the sixth president of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa and served as the Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister of ...

Rohitha Rajapaksa Rohitha Rajapaksa (born 15 June 1989) is a Sri Lankan and media personality. He is the youngest son of Sri Lanka's former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. He has two elder brothers – Namal and Yoshitha. He was a member of the Sri Lanka Navy Rugby ...

) :::1.2.4. Chandra Rajapaksa (1947-2018) (children: Chaminda Rajapaksa) :::1.2.5.

(1949-) (President of Sri Lanka - 7th Executive President and former Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Public Security, Law and Order)
(children: Manoj Rajapaksa) :::1.2.6.

Basil Rajapaksa Basil Rajapaksa (born 27 April 1951) is a Sri Lankan-American politician. He is a former Minister of Finance and Member of Parliament for the national list. He was also a member of the Sri Lankan Parliament from 2007 to 2015. During the period ...

(1951-) (former Cabinet Minister and Member of Parliament)
(Children: Thejani Rajapaksa, Bimalka Rajapaksa, Ashantha Rajapaksa) :::1.2.7. Dudley Rajapaksa (1957-) (children: Mihiri Rajapaksa) :::1.2.8. Preethi Rajapaksa (1959-) (children: Malaka Chandradasa, Madhawa Chandradasa, Madini Chandradasa, Malika Chandradasa) :::1.2.9. Gandani Rajapaksa (1962-) (children: Eshana Ranawaka, Nipuna Ranawaka, Randula Ranawaka)

References

External links