Gajendrakumar Gangaser Ponnambalam ( ta, கஜேந்திரகுமார் காங்கேசர் பொன்னம்பலம், translit=Kajēntirakumār Kāṅkēcar Poṉṉampalam; born 16 January 1974) is a Sri Lankan lawyer, politician and

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

. He is the leader of the

All Ceylon Tamil Congress All Ceylon Tamil Congress ( ta, அகில இலங்கைத் தமிழ்க் காங்கிரஸ்), is the oldest Tamil political party in Sri Lanka. History The ACTC was founded in 1944 by G.G. Ponnambalam. Ponnambalam ask ...

, a member of the

Tamil National People's Front The Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) is a Sri Lankan political alliance which represents the Sri Lankan Tamil ethnic minority in the country. It was launched on 28 February 2010 as breakaway faction of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). Its ma ...

Early life and family

Ponnambalam was born on 16 January 1974. He is the son of

Kumar Ponnambalam Gaasinather Gangaser Ponnambalam ( ta, காசிநாதர் காங்கேசர் பொன்னம்பலம்: 12 August 1938 – 5 January 2000; known as Kumar Ponnambalam) was a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician. Leader of th ...

and grandson of

G. G. Ponnambalam Ganapathipillai Gangaser Ponnambalam ( ta, கணபதி காங்கேசர் பொன்னம்பலம்; 8 November 1901 – 9 February 1977) was a Ceylon Tamil lawyer, politician and cabinet minister. He was the founder and l ...

, both leaders of the

(ACTC). 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 ...

and the

Colombo International School Colombo International School (CIS) is a private co-educational school in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1982 by Elizabeth Moir and employs an English-medium curriculum. In 1998 the school was expanded by the new Chairman of the Board of Di ...

. After school he joined

SOAS, University of London SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

, graduating with a

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

degree in 1995.

Career

Ponnambalam qualified as a barrister-at-law from

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

of England and Wales in 1997. Returning to Sri Lanka, he qualified as an attorney-at-law and was called to the bar of Sri Lanka in 1999. Ponnambalam entered politics following the assassination of his father on 5 January 2000. On 20 October 2001 the ACTC,

Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front The Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) is a series of Sri Lankan political parties and a former militant separatist group. Militant separatists The EPRLF was formed in 1980 by K. Pathmanabha (Padmanaba), Douglas Devananda, Su ...

Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization The Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) is an Eelam Tamil organisation which campaigned for the establishment of an independent Tamil Eelam in the northeast of Sri Lanka during 1972-1987 which later accepted the December 19th proposals. T ...

and

Tamil United Liberation Front The Tamil United Liberation Front ( ta, தமிழர் ஐக்கிய விடுதலை முன்னணி, translit=Tamil Onrupattatu Viduthulai Munnai, si, ද්‍රවිඩ එක්සත් විමුක්ති ප� ...

formed the

Tamil National Alliance The Tamil National Alliance ( ta, தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பு ISO 15919: ''tamiḻt tēciyakkūṭṭamaippu''; TNA) is a political alliance in Sri Lanka that represents the country's Sri Lankan ...

(TNA). Ponnambalam contested the 2001 parliamentary election as one of the TNA's candidates in Jaffna District and was elected to the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. He was re-elected at the 2004 parliamentary election. In March 2010 Ponnambalam, along with fellow TNA MPs S. Kajendran and

Pathmini Sithamparanathan Pathmini Sithamparanathan ( ta, பத்மினி சிதம்பரநாதன்; born 26 July 1954) is a Sri Lankan Tamil politician and former Member of Parliament. Early life Sithamparanathan was born on 26 July 1954. Career Sithamp ...

, left the TNA and formed the

(TNPF). Ponnambalam contested the 2010 parliamentary election as a TNPF candidate in Jaffna District but the TNPF failed to win any seats in Parliament. In February 2011 Ponnambalam became one of the vice-presidents of the TNPF. He contested the 2015 parliamentary election as a TNPF candidates in Jaffna District but, again, the TNPF failed to win any seats in Parliament. Ponnambalam contested the 2020 parliamentary election as a TNPF candidate in Jaffna District and was re-elected to the Parliament of Sri Lanka. Ponnambalam has extensive shareholdings in several companies

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

on the

Colombo Stock Exchange The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) ( si, කොළඹ ව්‍යාපාර වස්තු හුවමාරුව, translit=Kolamba Vyapara Vasthu Huvamaruva; ta, கொழும்பு பங்கு பரிவர்த்தனை) i ...

- 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 A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

, factoring and

microfinance Microfinance is a category of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; savings ...

) and Bukit Darah PLC (

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ponnambalam, Gajendrakumar 1974 births All Ceylon Tamil Congress politicians Alumni of Colombo International School Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Alumni of SOAS University of London Members of Lincoln's Inn Members of the 12th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 13th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka Living people Gajendrakumar Sri Lankan Hindus Sri Lankan Tamil lawyers Sri Lankan Tamil politicians Tamil National Alliance politicians

Early life and family

Career

Electoral history

See also

References