Kumar Ponnambalam
| Kumar Ponnambalam | |
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| குமார் பொன்னம்பலம் | |
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All Ceylon Tamil Congress candidate for President of Sri Lanka |
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Election date 20 October 1982 |
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| Opponent(s) |
J. R. Jayewardene, Hector Kobbekaduwa and others |
| Incumbent | J. R. Jayewardene |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 August 1938 |
| Died | 5 January 2000 (aged 61) |
| Political party | All Ceylon Tamil Congress |
| Alma mater |
King's College London Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Religion | Hindu |
| Ethnicity | Sri Lankan Tamil |
Gaasinather Gangaser Ponnambalam (Tamil: காசிநாதர் காங்கேசர் பொன்னம்பலம்: 12 August 1938 – 5 January 2000; known as Kumar Ponnambalam) was a Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and politician. Leader of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, he was a presidential candidate in 1982. He was shot dead in January 2000 in an assassination blamed on President Chandrika Kumaratunga.
Ponnambalam was born on 12 August 1938. He was the son of G. G. Ponnambalam, a leading Tamil politician and lawyer, and Rose Alagumani Clough. He was educated at St. Patrick's College, Jaffna and Royal College, Colombo. After school he studied at Aquinas University College, Colombo before joining King's College London, graduating with a LL.B. degree. He then proceeded to Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, graduating with a M.A. degree. He was a contemporary of leftist politician Vikramabahu Karunaratne at Cambridge.
Ponnambalam married Yogalakshmi, a surgeon and eldest daughter of T. Murugesapillai, a former Additional Government Agent for Jaffna. They had a daughter (Mirinalini, a doctor) and a son (Gajendrakumar, lawyer and politician).
Ponnambalam was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1974. Returning to Ceylon, he started practicing law as an advocate. He was a successful lawyer and became very rich as a result. He learnt the Sinhala so he could argue his cases in that language.
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