R. Sampanthan

In this Indian name, the name Rajavarothiam is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Sampanthan.

Rajavarothiam Sampanthan (Tamil: இராஜவரோதயம் சம்பந்தன்; Sinhala: රාජවරෝදියම් සම්බන්දන්; 5 February 1933 – 30 June 2024) was a Sri Lankan politician and lawyer who led the Tamil National Alliance from 2001 until his death in 2024. He was one of the longest serving Member of Parliament in the country, serving as an MP from 2001 until his death, and previously from 1977 to 1983 and from 1997 to 2000. He was the Leader of the Opposition from September 2015 to December 2018.^[1][2][3]

Hon. R. Sampanthan
இரா. சம்பந்தன்
Sampanthan in 2013
14th Leader of the Opposition
In office 3 September 2015 – 18 December 2018
President	Maithripala Sirisena
Prime Minister	Ranil Wickremesinghe Mahinda Rajapaksa
Preceded by	Nimal Siripala De Silva
Succeeded by	Mahinda Rajapaksa
Leader of the Tamil National Alliance
In office 2001 – 30 June 2024
Member of Parliament for Trincomalee District
In office 5 December 2001 – 30 June 2024
Succeeded by	K. S. Kugathasan
Majority	33,834
In office 1997 – 18 August 2000
Preceded by	Arunasalam Thangathurai
Member of Parliament for Trincomalee
In office 21 July 1977 – 7 September 1983
Preceded by	B. Neminathan
Majority	15,144
Personal details
Born	(1933-02-05)5 February 1933 Trincomalee, British Ceylon
Died	30 June 2024(2024-06-30) (aged 91) Colombo, Sri Lanka
Nationality	Sri Lankan
Political party	Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi
Other political affiliations	Tamil National Alliance
Alma mater	Ceylon Law College
Profession	Lawyer
Ethnicity	Sri Lankan Tamil

Background

Sampanthan was born on 5 February 1933.^[4][5] He was the son of A. Rajavarothiam, Superintendent of Stores at the Gal Oya Project.^[5] Sampanthan was related to S. Sivapalan and N. R. Rajavarothiam both of whom were MPs for Trincomalee.^[6] He was educated at St. Patrick's College, Jaffna, St. Anne's College, Kurunegala, St. Joseph's College, Trincomalee and St. Sebastian's College, Moratuwa.^[5][6] After school he joined Ceylon Law College, graduating as an attorney at law.^[5][6] After qualifying, Sampanthan practised law in Trincomalee.^[6]

Sampanthan married Leeladevi, daughter of P. K. Rudra.^[5] They had two sons (Sanjeevan and Senthuran) and one daughter (Krishanthini).^[5] R. Sampanthan died at a private hospital on 30 June 2024, at the age of 91.^[3]

Political career

U. S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets Sampanthan in May 2015.

Sampanthan joined the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (Federal Party) in 1956.^[4][5] ITAK leader S. J. V. Chelvanayakam offered Sampanthan nomination in 1963 and 1970 but Sampanthan declined.^[6]

On 14 May 1972, the ITAK, All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), Ceylon Workers' Congress, Eelath Thamilar Otrumai Munnani and All Ceylon Tamil Conference formed the Tamil United Front, later renamed Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF).^{[7][8][9][10]} Sampanthan was the TULF's candidate in Trincomalee at the 1977 parliamentary election. He won the election and entered Parliament.^[11] Sampanthan and all other TULF MPs boycotted Parliament from the middle of 1983 for a number of reasons: they were under pressure from Sri Lankan Tamil militants not to stay in Parliament beyond their normal six-year term; the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka required them to swear an oath unconditionally renouncing support for a separate state. After three months of absence, Sampanthan forfeited his seat in Parliament on 7 September 1983.^[12] Sampanthan served as joint treasurer, vice president and general secretary of TULF.^[4]

Sampanthan was one of the ENDLF/EPRLF/TELO/TULF alliance's candidates in the Trincomalee District at the 1989 parliamentary election but the alliance failed to win any seats in the district.^[13][14] He was one of the TULF's candidates in Trincomalee District at the 1994 parliamentary election but failed to get re-elected after coming second amongst the TULF candidates.^[15] However, he re-entered Parliament in 1997 following the assassination of A. Thangathurai on 5 July 1997.^[16][17] He was one of the TULF's candidates in Trincomalee District at the 2000 parliamentary election but the TULF failed to win any seats in the district.^[18][19][20]

On 20 October 2001, the ACTC, Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front, Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization and TULF formed the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).^[21][22] Sampanthan became the leader of the TNA. Sampanthan contested the 2001 parliamentary election as one of the TNA's candidates in Trincomalee District. He was elected and re-entered Parliament.^[23]

Soon after its formation, the TNA began to take a more pro-Tamil Tiger stance, recognising the Tigers as the sole representative of the Sri Lankan Tamils. This caused a split within the TULF. Some members of the TULF, led by its president V. Anandasangaree, opposed to the Tigers. Anandasangaree refused to allow the TNA to use the TULF name during the 2004 parliamentary election.^[24] This caused the members of TULF who wished to remain with the TNA, led by Sampanthan, to resurrect the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi political party.^[25] Sampanthan became the new leader of the ITAK.^[26][27]

Sampanthan was re-elected in the 2004, 2010 and 2015 parliamentary elections.^{[28][29][30][31][32]} During the 2015 Sri Lankan presidential election, the TNA, under his leadership, decided to back Maithripala Sirisena as the common opposition candidate.^[33] Sirisena went on to win the election, succeeding incumbent president Mahinda Rajapaksa. Following the 2015 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, the Speaker of the Parliament recognised Sampanthan as Leader of the Opposition on 3 September 2015.^[34][35][36]

Electoral history

Electoral history of R. Sampanthan

Election	Constituency	Party	Votes	Result	Sources
1977 parliamentary	Trincomalee	TULF	15,144	Elected	[11]
1989 parliamentary	Trincomalee District	TULF	6,048	Not elected	[14]
1994 parliamentary	Trincomalee District	TULF	19,525	Not elected	[37]
2000 parliamentary	Trincomalee District	TULF		Not elected	[citation needed]
2001 parliamentary	Trincomalee District	TNA	40,110	Elected	[23]
2004 parliamentary	Trincomalee District	TNA	47,735	Elected	[28]
2010 parliamentary	Trincomalee District	TNA	24,488	Elected	[29]
2015 parliamentary	Trincomalee District	TNA	33,834	Elected	[38]
2020 parliamentary	Trincomalee District	TNA	21,422	Elected	[39]

References

1. "Sampanthan Chosen As New Leader Of The Opposition". Colombo Telegraph. 3 September 2015. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
2. "Ethnic Tamil lawmaker becomes opposition leader in Sri Lanka for first time in decades". Fox News. 3 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
3. "Former TNA Leader R. Sampanthan no more". Archived from the original on 30 June 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
4. "Directory of Members: Rajavarothiam Sampanthan". Parliament of Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
5. Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon (PDF). pp. 173–174. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
6. "Who is Rajavarothayam Sampanthan". Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka). 29 June 2008. Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
7. Ross, Russell R.; Savada, Andrea Matles, eds. (1990). Sri Lanka : A Country Study (PDF). Library of Congress. p. 51. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
8. Chattopadhyaya, Haraprasad (1994). Ethnic Unrest in Modern Sri Lanka: An Account of Tamil-Sinhalese Race Relations. M. D. Publications. p. 33. ISBN 81-85880-52-2.
9. Amarasinghe, Samanga (2011). Independence to Referendum. Lulu Enterprises. p. 188. ISBN 978-1-105-01908-1.
10. Rajasingham, K. T. "Chapter 23: Srimavo's constitutional promiscuity". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Archived from the original on 13 February 2002.
11. "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1977" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2011.
12. Wickramasinghe, Wimal (18 January 2008). "Saga of crossovers, expulsions and resignations etc. Referendum for extention [sic] of Parliament". The Island (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 17 June 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
13. "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1989" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2009.
14. de Silva, W. P. P.; Ferdinando, T. C. L. 9th Parliament of Sri Lanka (PDF). Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited. p. 182. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 June 2015.
15. "Trinco awaits nomination". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 24 August 1997. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
16. "TNA's Sampanthan is 2nd Tamil to be Leader of Opposition". Ceylon Today. Press Association. 4 September 2015. p. A4. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
17. Ramakrishnan, T. (3 September 2015). "TNA's Sampanthan becomes opposition leader in Sri Lankan parliament". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
18. Ferdinando, Shamindra (8 October 2000). "Sampanthan asks police to probe Mahindapura massacre". The Island (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
19. "TULF candidates for Trincomalee decided". TamilNet. 27 August 2000. Archived from the original on 1 July 2024. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
20. "Parliamentary General Election 10.10.2000 – Trincomalee District". Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012.
21. Jeyaraj, D. B. S. "Tamil National Alliance enters critical third phase – 1". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 4 April 2010.
22. "Tamil parties sign MOU". TamilNet. 20 October 2001. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
23. "General Election 2001 Preferences" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015.
24. "Objection against TNA using HOUSE symbol rejected". TamilNet. 28 February 2004. Archived from the original on 1 March 2010. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
25. Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (18 May 2013). "Tamil National Alliance Faces Acute Political Crisis". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
26. "Mavai elected as ITAK's new leader". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 7 September 2014. Archived from the original on 1 July 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
27. "Mavai replaces Sampanthan as ITAK leader". Tamil Guardian. 6 September 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
28. "General Election 2004 Preferences" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2010.
29. "Parliamentary General Election – 2010 Trincomalee Preferences" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 May 2010.
30. "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Government Notifications PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS ACT, No. 1 OF 1981" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1928/03. 19 August 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015.
31. "Ranil tops with over 500,000 votes in Colombo". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 19 August 2015. Archived from the original on 1 November 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
32. "Preferential Votes". Daily News (Sri Lanka). 19 August 2015. Archived from the original on 20 August 2015.
33. Srinivasan, Meera (3 January 2018). "We can't despair, we can't abandon things, says Sri Lanka's R. Sampanthan". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
34. "Sampanthan new opposition leader". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 3 September 2015. Archived from the original on 7 November 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
35. "R. Sampanthan appointed Opposition Leader". The Nation (Sri Lanka). 3 September 2015. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
36. "Tamil MP Sampanthan to lead Sri Lanka opposition". BBC News. 3 September 2015. Archived from the original on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
37. "Sampanthan for Trinco". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 13 July 1997. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
38. Jayakody, Pradeep (28 August 2015). "The Comparison of Preferential Votes in 2015 & 2010". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 30 August 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
39. "District Results – Trincomalee – Final". Ada Derana. 5 August 2020. Archived from the original on 25 February 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.

Further reading

• "Sri Lanka not interested in 13th Amendement implementation: Sri Lankan MP R Sampanthan". The Economic Times. 27 August 2014 – via PTI.
• "R Sampanthan as Lankan opposition leader gives hope: DMK". The Economic Times. 5 September 2015 – via PTI.

External links

• R. Sampanthan on Twitter
• Srinivasan, Meera (29 November 2020). "NSA Ajit Doval meets Sri Lankan Tamil leader Sampanthan". The Hindu.