Ranawaka Arachchige Arthur Reginald Perera (1 December 1915 - 19 November 1977) was

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Trotskyist Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...

politician. Perera received his education at

St. John's College, Panadura St John's College is a school in Panadura, Sri Lanka, that was founded in 1876. It is a National school with a student population of 2500 and staff of about 100. History St. John's College was initially known as 'Primary State English School' w ...

. In the 1930s he joined the

Lanka Sama Samaja Party The Lanka Sama Samaja Party, often abbreviated as LSSP (Literal translation, literally: Lanka Socialist Party, Sinhalese language, Sinhala: ලංකා සම සමාජ පක්ෂය, Tamil language, Tamil: லங்கா சமசமா� ...

, actively engaging in the youth league activities of the party. In the late 1930s Perera represented the LSSP at the sessions of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was imprisoned for over three years by the British for undermining the war effort along with

Colvin R. de Silva Colvin Reginald de Silva (1907 – 27 February 1989; commonly known as Colvin R. de Silva) was a Cabinet Minister of Plantation Industries and Constitutional Affairs, prominent member of parliament, Trotskyist leader and lawyer in Sri Lanka. ...

and

N. M. Perera Nanayakkarapathirage Martin Perera, commonly known as Dr. N. M. Perera ( Sinhala එන්.එම්.පෙරේරා ; 6 June 1904 – 14 August 1979), was one of the leaders of the Sri Lankan Trotskyist Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP). He w ...

. In 1947 Perera ran in the 1st parliamentary election in the Dehiowita electorate, where he was elected, receiving 6,387 votes (49.1% of the total vote), defeating five other candidates. He chose not to seek re-election at the subsequent parliamentary elections in 1952 in order to allow

Edmund Samarakkody Edmund Peter Samarakkody (19 April 1912 – 4 January 1992) was a Ceylonese lawyer, trade unionist, politician and Member of Parliament. Early life and family Samarakkody was born on 19 April 1912, the fifth of seven children to Charles Peter ...

to take his place. Instead he ran in the Ratnapura electorate, where he lost to the sitting member,

C. E. Attygalle Cyril Eugene Attygalle (6 February 1905 – 30 April 1980) was a Ceylonese politician. Cyril Eugene Attygalle was born 6 February 1905 in Weralupe, Ratnapura, the sixth in a family of eleven (nine sons and two daughters), to Don Louis Atty ...

by 1,811 votes. At the 3rd parliamentary election held April 1956, Perera contested the seat of

Matugama Mathugama ( si, මතුගම, ta, மத்துகம) is a semi urban town surrounded by mountains. It is an electorate of the Kalutara district, in Western Province, Sri Lanka. The town is located to the south of Colombo. Mathugama is ...

. He was unsuccessful in his challenge polling 3,920 votes (10.7% of the total vote) finishing third. In 1959 he was elected as a member of the

Senate of Ceylon The Senate was the upper chamber of the parliament of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1947 by the Soulbury Commission. The Senate was appointed and indirectly elected rather than directly elected. It was housed in the old Legislative Counci ...

, representing 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 ...

(People's United Front). He remained a senator until 1971, serving two terms, after which he was appointed as Ceylon's Ambassador to Egypt.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perera Reginald 1915 births 1977 deaths Members of the Senate of Ceylon Lanka Sama Samaja Party politicians Prisoners and detainees of British Ceylon Members of the 1st Parliament of Ceylon People of British Ceylon

See also

References