Kusuma Rajaratne (née Perera) (12 December 1925 - May 2007) was a Ceylonese politician. Kusuma Perera was born on 12 December 1925 in Kotte the second of four children to Awis Perera, an

Ayurvedic Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population rep ...

physician and Caroline Hamine. Kusuma received her education at

Ananda Sastralaya ''Appamaththā Namiyanthi''(Buddhist quote from the Apramadha Vagga in the Dhammapada. , established = , type = National , affiliation = Buddhist , principal = Upul Jayarathne , grades ...

and

Anula Vidyalaya Anula Vidyalaya, is a national girls' school in Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by po ...

before entered the

University of Colombo (Buddhih Sarvatra Bhrajate) , mottoeng = ''Wisdom Enlightens'' , established = , endowment = Sri Lankan rupee, LKR 1.461 1,000,000,000 (number), billion

. On 24 August 1950 she married Konara Mudiyanselage Podiappuhamy Rajaratne, a teacher and lecturer, whom she had known since her school days at Ananda Sastralaya. Her husband stood as a candidate for

Welimada Welimada (වැලිමඩ)is a town in the Badulla District of the Uva Province of Sri Lanka. Administration The Welimada town is now administered by the Welimada Divisional Council. Notable government institutions include: * Divisional Secre ...

at the 1952 parliamentary election but failed to get elected after coming third. On 26 August 1955 the district court in

Badulla Badulla ( si, බදුල්ල, ta, பதுளை) is the capital and the largest city of Uva Province situated in the lower central hills of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Uva Province and the Badulla District. Geography Badulla is ...

convicted Rajaratne, who had been his own

election agent An election agent in elections in the United Kingdom, as well as some other similar political systems such as elections in India, is the person legally responsible for the conduct of a candidate's political campaign and to whom election material is ...

at the 1952 parliamentary election, of not submitting his

election expenses Campaign finance, also known as election finance or political donations, refers to the funds raised to promote candidates, political parties, or policy initiatives and referendums. Political parties, charitable organizations, and political act ...

and fined him Rs. 100. He stood as the

Mahajana Eksath Peramuna The Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (People's United Front) is a political party in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), for ...

(MEP) candidate for Welimada at the 1956 parliamentary election, winning the election. On 1 October 1956 an election judge ruled that the 1956 parliamentary election in Welimada was void because Rajaratne had been disqualified from being a Member of Parliament for three years following his 1955 conviction. As a result, he lost his seat in Parliament. In the subsequent by-election held on 7 September 1957 Kusuma ran as an independent, where she secured 14,069 votes, just over 80% of the total vote, defeating both the National Liberation Front (NLF) and

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� ...

candidates, who combined only received under 19% of the total vote. At the 4th parliamentary election in March 1960 she stood down from representing Welidama allowing her husband to re-contest the seat. Kusuma however ran in the newly created adjoining seat of Uva Paranagama, as the National Liberation Front (Jathika Vimukthi Peramuna) candidate, which she won, receiving 4,662 votes (40% of the total votes). She retained the seat at the subsequent

parliamentary election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

s in July 1960, with an increased majority, receiving 6,473 votes (56.88% of the total votes). Kusuma also successfully contested the 1965 parliamentary elections, where she was the sole parliamentary representative of National Liberation Front, her husband failing in his attempt to be re-elected for the seat of Welimada. Kusama was appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary for the

Minister of Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

in the

Third Dudley Senanayake cabinet The Third Dudley Senanayake cabinet was the central government of Ceylon led by Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake between 1965 and 1970. It was formed in March 1965 after the parliamentary election and it ended in May 1970 after the opposition's ...

but resigned the post in 1966 in protest against the Government's decision to introduce new laws to facilitate the official use of

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

in administration.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajaratne, Kusuma 1925 births Alumni of Ananda Sastralaya, Kotte Alumni of the University of Ceylon (Colombo) Members of the 3rd Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 4th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 5th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 6th Parliament of Ceylon 2007 deaths