Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam


Gajendrakumar Gangaser Ponnambalam is a Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer, politician and former Member of Parliament. He is the leader of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, a member of the Tamil National People's Front.

Early life and family

Ponnambalam was born on 16 January 1974. He is the son of Kumar Ponnambalam and grandson of G. G. Ponnambalam, leading Tamil politicians. He was educated at Royal College, Colombo and the Colombo International School. After school he joined SOAS, University of London, graduating with a LL.B. degree in 1995.

Career

Ponnambalam qualified as a barrister-at-law from Lincoln's Inn and was called to the bar 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 All Ceylon Tamil Congress, Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front, Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization and Tamil United Liberation Front formed the Tamil National Alliance. Ponnambalam contested the 2001 parliamentary election as one of the TNA's candidates in Jaffna District. He was elected and entered Parliament. He was re-elected at the 2004 parliamentary election. In March 2010 Ponnambalam, along with fellow TNA MPs S. Kajendran and Pathmini Sithamparanathan, left the TNA and formed the Tamil National People's Front.
Ponnambalam contested the 2010 parliamentary election as one of the TNPF's candidates 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 one of the TNPF's candidates in Jaffna District but again the TNPF failed to win any seats in Parliament.

Electoral history