Hon.
D. M. Swaminathan
தே. ம. சுவாமிநாதன்
Minister of Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs[a]
In office
12 January 2015 – 18 November 2019
Member of Parliament
for National List
In office
2010–2020
2nd Governor of Western Province
In office
11 July 1994 – 1 December 1994
Preceded bySuppiah Sharvananda
Succeeded byK. Vignarajah
Personal details
Born
Deva Manoharan Swaminathan

(1945-04-30) 30 April 1945 (age 78)
Political partyUnited National Party
Other political
affiliations		United National Front for Good Governance
Spouse(s)Gayathri Swaminathan
(née Carthigesan)
ChildrenShobana, Prakash
Residence(s)125 Rosmead Place,
Colombo 07, Sri Lanka.
Alma materCeylon Law College
ProfessionLawyer
EthnicitySri Lankan Tamil
ReligionHindu

Deva Manoharan Swaminathan (Tamil: தேவ மனோகரன் சுவாமிநாதன், Sinhala: දේවා මනෝහරන් ස්වාමිනාදන්; born 30 April 1945) is a Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer, politician and ex cabinet minister.

Early life and family

See also: Ponnambalam-Coomaraswamy family

Swaminathan was born on 30 April 1945.[1] He is the son of M. Swaminathan and Lalithambikai (daughter of S. Pararajasingam and grand daughter of P. Arunachalam).[2] He was educated at Royal College, Colombo.[2] After school he joined Ceylon Law College, qualifying as an advocate of the Supreme Court.[2]

Career

After qualifying Swaminathan started practising law in Colombo, taking over the chambers of proctor Ratnakaram which were renamed D. M. Swaminathan Associates in 1971.[3]

Swaminathan was appointed Governor of Western Province in June 1994 after the controversial dismissal of Suppiah Sharvananda by President D. B. Wijetunga.[4] He was appointed chairman of the National Savings Bank in March 2002, serving until 2004.[5][6]

Swaminathan was appointed as one of the United National Party's (UNP) National List MPs in the Sri Lankan Parliament following the 2010 parliamentary election.[7][8] In October 2010 he was appointed to the Parliamentary Council which was established by the controversial 18th Amendment to make non-binding recommendations the president on the membership of various national commissions.[9][10][11] After the 2015 presidential election he was appointed Minister of Resettlement, Reconstruction and Hindu Religious Affairs by newly elected President Maithripala Sirisena.[12][13]

Swaminathan was re-appointed as a National List MP following the 2015 parliamentary election.[14][15] He was appointed Minister of Rehabilitation and Resettlement on 24 August 2015.[16][17] He was given the additional portfolio of Hindu Affairs on 4 September 2015.[18][19] He was given the additional portfolio of Prison Reforms on 11 November 2015.[20][21]

Swaminathan has been a member of the Rotary Club of Colombo since 1971.[22] He is a trustee of the Sri Ponnambala Vaneswara Temple at Sea Street in Kochchikade, Colombo which was founded by his great-great-grand father A. Ponnambalam.[23] He is one of the UNP's vice-chairmen.[24][25] He was also treasurer of the UNP.[26][27]

Notes

  1. ^ Minister of Resettlement, Reconstruction and Hindu Religious Affairs (January 2015 - August 2015); Minister of Rehabilitation and Resettlement (August 2015 - September 2015); Minister of Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affair (September 2015 - November 2015)

References

  1. ^ "Directory of Members: D. M. Swaminathan". Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "Partner". D. M. Swaminathan Associates. Archived from the original on 3 April 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  3. ^ "About Us". D. M. Swaminathan Associates. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  4. ^ "A Shabby Abuse of Power" (PDF). Tamil Times. XIII (6): 3. 15 June 1994. ISSN 0266-4488.
  5. ^ "Swaminathan, NSB chairman". The Island (Sri Lanka). 21 March 2002.
  6. ^ Sirimanna, Bandula (27 May 2012). "NSB-TFC share deal cannot be justified whatsoever, says former NSB chairman". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
  7. ^ "National list MPs nominated: UPFA-17, UNP-09, DNA-02, and ITAK-01". TamilNet. 21 April 2010.
  8. ^ "The full National List" (PDF). The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 25 April 2010. p. 12.
  9. ^ "Swaminathan, Aswer nominated to PAC". TamilNet. 1 October 2010.
  10. ^ "Speaker Gets Nominees For Parliamentary Council". The Sunday Leader. 1 October 2010.
  11. ^ "PC this week". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 3 October 2010.
  12. ^ "New Cabinet ministers sworn in". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 12 January 2015.
  13. ^ "New Cabinet takes oaths". The Nation (Sri Lanka). 12 January 2015. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015.
  14. ^ "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Government Notifications PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION — 2015 Declaration under Article 99A of the Constitution" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1928/25. 21 August 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015.
  15. ^ "UNP national list". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 21 August 2015.
  16. ^ "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Appointments & C., by the President" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1929/15. 26 August 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015.
  17. ^ "Three ministers sworn in". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 24 August 2015.
  18. ^ "New Cabinet". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 4 September 2015.
  19. ^ "The new Cabinet". Ceylon Today. 4 September 2015. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015.
  20. ^ "Sagala, Swaminathan sworn in as Ministers". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 11 November 2015.
  21. ^ Santiago, Melanie (11 November 2015). "Update: Ministers Sagala Ratnayaka and Swaminathan given additional portfolios". News First.
  22. ^ "Members". Rotary Club of Colomb.
  23. ^ "Baratha Natya Arangetram". The Sunday Leader. 18 January 2004.
  24. ^ "Weragoda to be new UNP secy". The Island (Sri Lanka). 18 July 2004.
  25. ^ Moramudali, Umesh (23 January 2013). "Ranil-Sajith powwow". Ceylon Today.
  26. ^ Bandara, Kelum (4 September 2007). "Swaminathan to succeed Karunaratne as UNP treasurer". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 3 April 2013.
  27. ^ "Wickremasinghe appeals to dissidents to rejoin UNP". TamilNet. 6 December 2008.

External links

Political offices Preceded bySuppiah Sharvananda Governor of Western Province 1994 Succeeded byK. Vignarajah
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Governors of the Western Province
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