Sanjay Rajaratnam | |
---|---|
47th Attorney General of Sri Lanka | |
In office 26 May 2021 –26 June 2024 | |
Appointed by | Gotabaya Rajapaksa |
Preceded by | Dappula de Livera |
47th Solicitor General of Sri Lanka | |
In office October 2019 –26 May 2021 | |
Preceded by | Dilrukshi Dias Wickramasinghe |
Personal details | |
Citizenship | Sri Lankan |
Nationality | Sri Lankan |
Parent |
|
Education |
|
Alma mater | |
Occupation | Lawyer |
Profession | Attorney-At-Law |
Sanjay Rajaratnam, PC is a Sri Lankan lawyer. He is the former Attorney General of Sri Lanka. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] He previously served as the Acting Solicitor General of Sri Lanka from October 2019 up until May 2021.
Sanjay Rajaratnam's father, Sivakumaran Rajaratnam, was an Advocate who took oaths in 1955, and his grandfather was Duraiappah Rajaratnam MBE, a Crown Proctor from Trincomalee, [7] who was also the first Chairman of the Trincomalee Urban Council. [1] [8]
Rajaratnam received his primary and secondary education at the St. Peter's College, Bambalapitiya and Royal College, Colombo [9] He then entered the Sri Lanka Law College and qualified as an attorney-at-law. Rajaratnam also received an LL.M. from the Queen Mary University of London and qualified as a solicitor. [10]
He joined the Attorney General's Department in April 1988 as a State Counsel. He was later promoted as Senior State Counsel, and then Deputy Solicitor General. [10] [11] In 2014, he was appointed as the President's Counsel by the then Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. [10]
In October 2019, he replaced Dilrukshi Dias Wickramasinghe as the acting solicitor general following the latter's leaked controversial phone call with Avant Garde chairman. [12] [13]
On 20 May 2021, the Parliamentary Council approved the appointment of Sanjay Rajaratnam to the position of Attorney General of Sri Lanka replacing Dappula de Livera. [14] [15] [16] [17]
Mangala Pinsiri Samaraweera was a Sri Lankan politician. He was the first openly gay politician in Sri Lanka. He served as Minister of Finance from 2017 to 2019, and as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, for two terms from 2005 to 2007 and 2015 to 2017. He created a stir in Sri Lankan politics when he was sacked as a minister by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2007, after which he split from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party to form his own wing, which later merged with the United National Party in 2010.
A president's counsel is an eminent lawyer who is appointed by the President of Sri Lanka as an individual "learned in the law". The term is an honorific that replaced the Queen's Counsel (QC), which Sri Lanka ceased appointing when it became a republic in 1972. It is equivalent to the appointment of a King's Counsel in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms, and that of Senior Counsel in Commonwealth republics, bearing the same privileges, such as sitting within the Bar of court.
Kandapper Chinniah Kamalasabayson was a Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer, Solicitor General of Sri Lanka and Attorney General of Sri Lanka.
Arumadura Lawrence Romelo Duminda Silva, popularly as Duminda Silva or R. Dumindha Silva, is a Sri Lankan politician and a former Member of Parliament. He is the brother of Raynor Silva, owner of the Asia Broadcasting Corporation. On 8 September 2016 he was sentenced to death by the High Court of Sri Lanka for the murder of Sri Lankan politician Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra, a political rival.
Sujeewa Senasinghe is a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician. He is a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka and the State Minister for International Trade until 2019.
Shanthi Eva Wanasundera PC is a Sri Lankan judge and lawyer. She is a former puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. Prior to her appointment as puisne justice, in 2012, she served as Solicitor General and Attorney General of Sri Lanka.
The Constitutional Council (CC) is a 10-member constitutional authority in Sri Lanka tasked with maintaining independent commissions and monitoring its affairs. The Constitutional Council is aimed at depoliticizing the public service.
Murdu Nirupa Bidushinie Fernando, PC is a Sri Lankan judge and lawyer currently serving as the 48th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka since 16 November 2024. Previously, she served as acting Chief Justice of Sri Lanka from 10 October to 16 November 2024. She is a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, prior to which she served as the senior additional solicitor general in the Attorney General's Department. She is the second woman to hold the position.
Jayantha Chandrasiri Jayasuriya, PC is a lawyer who served as the 47th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka from April 2019 to October 2024. Jayasuriya was approved by the Constitutional Council on the 26 April 2019 and sworn in three days later on the 29 April, succeeding Chief Justice Nalin Perera. He previously served as the 45th Attorney General of Sri Lanka. While serving as Attorney General Jayasuriya defended the sacking of the Prime Minister by the President of Sri Lanka but was over-ruled by the Supreme Court. Jayasuriya controversially requested an extension of the term of office of President Sirisena prior to being made Chief Justice. The Supreme Court overruled that request.
Preethi Padman Surasena is a Sri Lankan lawyer and a sitting puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. He was formerly a justice of the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka, also serving as court president from 2018 to 2019.
Chandana Deepal Wickramaratne is a retired Sri Lankan police officer. He is a former Inspector General of Sri Lankan Police.
Dappula de LiveraPC is a Sri Lankan lawyer and the former Attorney General of Sri Lanka. He previously served as the Solicitor General of Sri Lanka from February 2018 and took over as acting attorney general from 29 April 2019 until his formal appointment in May 2019.
Dilrukshi Dias Wickramasinghe also simply known as Dilrukshi Dias is the 46th Solicitor General of Sri Lanka. She has held several posts during her career including the position of Director General of the Bribery Commission. In September 2019, she involved in controversies regarding the direct links which she maintained with Avant Garde chairman Nissanka Senadhipathi. In October 2019, Sanjay Rajaratnam replaced Dilrukshi Dias as the acting Solicitor General following the controversial phone call with Avant Garde chairman.
The Samagi Jana Balawegaya is a political alliance led by Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa. It is the largest opposition coalition in the Parliament of Sri Lanka since 2020.
The 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka was the meeting of the Parliament of Sri Lanka with its membership determined by the results of the 2020 parliamentary election held on 5 August 2020. The parliament met for the first time on 20 August 2020 and was dissolved on 24 September 2024.
Mohamed Uvais Mohamed Ali Sabry, PC, MP, also known as Ali Sabry, is a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician. He was the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 22 July 2022 to 23 September 2024. He previously served as the Minister of Finance until 9 May 2022. He was a Member of Parliament, appointed from the national list of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna. He also served as the Minister of Justice until 9 May 2022. He served as the defense counsel of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, chief legal adviser and President of the Muslim Federation of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna.
The following lists notable events that took place during the year 2021 in Sri Lanka.
The following lists notable events that took place during the year 2022 in Sri Lanka.
S. Jagath Samarawickrama, is a Sri Lankan politician and Member of Parliament.
The Uttara Lanka Sabhagaya or Supreme Lanka Coalition is a political alliance in Sri Lanka formed in 2022. The coalition is made up of seven Sri Lankan leftist and nationalist parties who were formerly part of the SLPP-led Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance, before defecting to the opposition amidst the 2022 economic crisis and political crisis. The first conference of the alliance was held on 4 September 2022. Leader of the National Freedom Front (NFF) and former cabinet minister Wimal Weerawansa is the chairman of the Supreme Lanka Coalition.