Deva Manoharan Swaminathan ( ta, தேவ மனோகரன் சுவாமிநாதன், si, දේවා මනෝහරන් ස්වාමිනාදන්; born 30 April 1945) is a

Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Pr ...

lawyer, politician and ex cabinet minister.

Early life and family

Swaminathan was born on 30 April 1945. He is the son of M. Swaminathan and Lalithambikai (daughter of S. Pararajasingam and grand daughter of

P. Arunachalam Ponnambalam Arunachalam ( ta, பொன்னம்பலம் அருணாசலம், translit=Poṉṉampalam Aruṇācalam; 14 September 1853 – 9 January 1924) was a Ceylonese civil servant and a member of the Executive Council of Ceyl ...

). He was educated at

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo is a selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in Janua ...

. After school he joined

Ceylon Law College Sri Lanka Law College (abbreviated as SLLC), formerly known as Ceylon Law College, is a law college, and the only legal institution where one can enroll as a attorney-at-law in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1874, under the then Council of Legal ...

, qualifying as an advocate of the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Career

After qualifying Swaminathan started practising law in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

, taking over the

chambers Chambers may refer to: Places Canada: *Chambers Township, Ontario United States: *Chambers County, Alabama * Chambers, Arizona, an unincorporated community in Apache County * Chambers, Nebraska * Chambers, West Virginia * Chambers Township, Hol ...

of proctor Ratnakaram which were renamed D. M. Swaminathan Associates in 1971. Swaminathan was appointed Governor of Western Province in June 1994 after the controversial dismissal of

Suppiah Sharvananda Deshamanya Suppiah Sharvananda (also spelt Suppiah Sarvananda) was the 37th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka and the first Governor of the Western Province. Early life Sharvanda was born on 22 February 1923 in Kayts, Jaffna District. He attended St. ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

D. B. Wijetunga Sri Lankabhimanya Dingiri Banda Wijetunga ( si, ඩිංගිරි බණ්ඩා විජේතුංග, ta, டிங்கிரி பண்ட விஜேதுங்க; 15 February 1916 – 21 September 2008) was the fourth Presid ...

. He was appointed chairman of the National Savings Bank in March 2002, serving until 2004. Swaminathan was appointed as one of 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), ...

's (UNP) National List MPs in the

Sri Lankan Parliament The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා පාර්ලිමේන්තුව ''Shri Lanka Parlimenthuwa'', Tamil: இலங்கை நாடாளுமன்றம் ''Ila� ...

following the 2010 parliamentary election. In October 2010 he was appointed to the

Parliamentary Council The Parliamentary Council was a constitutional authority in Sri Lanka established under the 18th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka. Formally being constituted on January 1, 2011 as per the 18th Amendment, it replaces the Constitutional ...

which was established by the controversial 18th Amendment to make non-binding recommendations the president on the membership of various national commissions. After the 2015 presidential election he was appointed Minister of Resettlement, Reconstruction and Hindu Religious Affairs by newly elected President

Maithripala Sirisena Maithripala Yapa Sirisena ( si, පල්ලෙවත්‍ත ගමරාළලාගේ මෛත්‍රීපාල යාපා සිරිසේන; ta, பல்லேவத்த கமராளலாகே மைத்திரி� ...

. Swaminathan was re-appointed as a National List MP following the 2015 parliamentary election. He was appointed Minister of Rehabilitation and Resettlement on 24 August 2015. He was given the additional portfolio of Hindu Affairs on 4 September 2015. He was given the additional portfolio of Prison Reforms on 11 November 2015. Swaminathan has been a member of the Rotary Club of Colombo since 1971. He is a trustee of the Sri Ponnambala Vaneswara Temple at Sea Street in Kochchikade, Colombo which was founded by his great-great-grand father A. Ponnambalam. He is one of the UNP's vice-chairmen. He was also treasurer of the UNP.

Notes

References

External links

D. M. Swaminathan Associates
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swaminathan, D. M. 1945 births Alumni of Ceylon Law College Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Cabinet ministers of Sri Lanka Ceylonese advocates Coomaraswamy family Governors of Western Province, Sri Lanka Living people Members of the 14th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 15th Parliament of Sri Lanka People from Colombo Sri Lankan Hindus Sri Lankan Tamil lawyers Sri Lankan Tamil politicians United National Party politicians