Velusami Radhakrishnan

Honourable
Velusami Radhakrishnan
MP MPC
வேலுசாமி இராதாகிருஷ்ணன்
State Minister of Education
Assumed office
12 January 2015
Deputy Minister of Botanical Gardens and Public Recreation
In office
9 October 2014 – 10 December 2014
Member of the Sri Lankan Parliament
for Nuwara Eliya District
Assumed office
8 April 2010
Member of the Central Provincial Council for Nuwara Eliya District
In office
1999–2010
Personal details
Born (1952-08-01) 1 August 1952
Political party Up-Country People's Front
Other political
affiliations		 Tamil Progressive Alliance
Ethnicity Indian Tamil

Akandhan Velusami Radhakrishnan (Tamil: அகண்டன் வேலுசாமி இராதாகிருஷ்ணன்; born 1 August 1952) is a Sri Lankan politician and state minister. He is the leader of the Up-Country People's Front (UCPF), a member of the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) and United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG).

Early life and family

Radhakrishnan was born on 1 August 1952.[1] He was educated at Holy Trinity College, Nuwara Eliya, St. Peter's College, Colombo and St. Joseph's College, Colombo.[2] He is married and has four children.[1][2]

Career

Radhakrishnan was elected to Nuwara Eliya Divisional Council and became its chairman in 1991.[2] He contested the 1999 provincial council election as one of the Indian Origin People's Front's candidates in Nuwara Eliya District and was elected to the Central Provincial Council (CPC).[2][3] He was Minister of Culture and Tamil Education.[4][5] He contested the 2004 provincial council election as one of the United National Front's (UNF) candidates in Nuwara Eliya District and was re-elected to the CPC.[6] In February 2005 he was appointed Minister of Tamil Education (other than Muslim Schools) Industries, Estate Infrastructure Facilities, Hindu Cultural Affairs, Youth Affairs and Sports.[7] He was re-elected at the 2009 provincial council election, this times as a United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) candidate.[8] In March 2009 he was appointed Minister of Industries, Sports, Women Affairs, Rural Development, Estate Infrastructure Facilities Development, Hindu Cultural Affairs, Education (Tamil) and Youth Affairs.[9]

Radhakrishnan contested the 2010 parliamentary election as one of the UPFA's candidates in Nuwara Eliya District and was elected to Parliament.[10][11] On 11 September 2010 Radhakrishnan left the Ceylon Workers' Congress to sit as an independent MP supporting UPFA.[12] He joined the Up-Country People's Front as its political leader on 7 October 2010.[13] He was appointed Deputy Minister of Botanical Gardens and Public Recreation on 9 October 2014.[14][15]

Radhakrishnan resigned from the UPFA government on 10 December 2014 to support common opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena at the presidential election.[16][17] After the election newly elected President Sirisena rewarded Radhakrishnan by appointing him State Minister of Education.[18][19]

Radhakrishnan was one of the United National Front for Good Governance's candidates in Nuwara Eliya District at the 2015 parliamentary election. He was elected and re-entered Parliament.[20][21][22] After the election he was re-appointed State Minister of Education.[23][24][25]

Radhakrishnan was elected leader of the UCPF on 6 September 2015.[26]

Electoral history

Electoral history of Velusami Radhakrishnan
Election Constituency Party Votes Result
1999 provincial Nuwara Eliya District IOPF Elected
2004 provincial[6] Nuwara Eliya District UNF 44,525 Elected
2009 provincial[8] Nuwara Eliya District UPFA 18,513 Elected
2010 parliamentary[10] Nuwara Eliya District UPFA 54,083 Elected
2015 parliamentary[27] Nuwara Eliya District UNFGG 87,375 Elected

References

  1. 1 2 "Directory of Members: V.S. Radhakrishnan". Parliament of Sri Lanka.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "New faces in Parliament" (PDF). The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 18 April 2010.
  3. ↑ Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (15 April 1999). "Provincial Council Elections: A Mixed Result" (PDF). Tamil Times. XVIII (4): 4–7. ISSN 0266-4488.
  4. ↑ "'Tamils should preserve their culture'". Daily News (Sri Lanka). 8 February 2002.
  5. ↑ Krishnaswamy, P. (15 September 2013). "Heavy voter turnout expected in upcountry". Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka).
  6. 1 2 "Results of Provincial Council Elections 2004" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
  7. ↑ "PART IV (A) — PROVINCIAL COUNCILS Appointments &c., by the Governors APPOINTMENTS MADE BY THE HON. GOVERNOR – CENTRAL PROVINCE" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1380/02. 14 February 2005.
  8. 1 2 "Preferences Nuwara Eliya" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
  9. ↑ "PART IV (A) — PROVINCIAL COUNCILS Appointments &c., by the Governors APPOINTMENTS MADE BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE CENTRAL PROVINCE" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1594/28. 26 March 2009.
  10. 1 2 "Parliamentary General Election - 2010 Nuwara Eliya Preferences" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
  11. ↑ "General Elections 2010 - Preferential Votes" (PDF). The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 11 April 2010.
  12. ↑ "CWC MP Goes Independent". The Sunday Leader. 11 September 2010.
  13. ↑ "Parliamentarian Radhakrishnan to lead UPF political wing". TamilNet. 8 October 2010.
  14. ↑ "Radhakrishnan appointed deputy minister". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 10 October 2014.
  15. ↑ "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Appointments & c., by the President" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1884/24. 14 October 2014.
  16. ↑ Ferdinando, Shamindra (11 December 2014). "Two deputy ministers quit; CWC suffers split". The Island (Sri Lanka).
  17. ↑ Srinivasan, Meera (11 December 2014). "2 more MPs leave Rajapaksa government". The Hindu.
  18. ↑ "New Cabinet ministers sworn in". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 12 January 2015.
  19. ↑ "New Cabinet takes oaths". The Nation (Sri Lanka). 12 January 2015.
  20. ↑ "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.
  21. ↑ "Ranil tops with over 500,000 votes in Colombo". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 19 August 2015.
  22. ↑ "Preferential Votes". Daily News (Sri Lanka). 19 August 2015.
  23. ↑ "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Appointments & c., by the President" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1932/69. 18 September 2015.
  24. ↑ "New State and Deputy Ministers". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 9 September 2015.
  25. ↑ "State and Deputy Ministers take oaths (Updated Full List)". The Nation (Sri Lanka). 9 September 2015.
  26. ↑ "Rathakrishnan elected as Leader of Upcountry People's Front". Tamil Diplomat. 10 September 2015.
  27. ↑ Jayakody, Pradeep (28 August 2015). "The Comparison of Preferential Votes in 2015 & 2010". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka).
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