Ranjit Atapattu

Ranjith Kanishka Parakrama Atapattu (29 April 1933 – 8 January 2018) was a Sri Lankan physician and politician.^[1] He was the Minister of Health in Sri Lanka from 1982 to 1989 and Minister of Labour and Social Welfare from 1989 to 1990.

Hon. Dr Ranjit Atapattu
Minister of Health
In office 1982–1989
Preceded by	Siva Obeyesekere
Succeeded by	Renuka Herath
Minister of Labour and Social Welfare
In office 18 February 1989 – 5 January 1990
Preceded by	C. P. J. Seneviratne
Succeeded by	Dingiri Banda Wijetunga
Member of Parliament for Hambantota
In office 9 March 1989 – 24 June 1994
Member of the Ceylon Parliament for Beliatta
In office 1977–1989
Preceded by	Mahinda Rajapaksa
Succeeded by	seat abolished
Personal details
Born	Ranjit Kanishka Parakrama Atapattu (1933-04-29)29 April 1933 Tangalle, Sri Lanka
Died	8 January 2018(2018-01-08) (aged 84) Colombo
Political party	United National Party
Spouse	Dreda
Relations	D. P. Atapattu (father) Daya Dahanayake (mother) Indrani Atapattu (sister)
Alma mater	Royal College, Colombo, University of Ceylon
Occupation	Politics
Profession	Physician

Biography

Ranjith Kanishka Parakrama Atapattu was born on 29 April 1933^[2] in Tangalle to Don Peter Atapattu and Daya Dahanayake. Don Peter was a Member of Parliament for the Beliatta electorate and Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Minister of State.^[3] He had one sister, Indrani who married and migrated to Australia.

Between 1954 and 1960, Atapattu was educated at Royal College, Colombo^[4] and the University of Ceylon, where he obtained a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. Atapattu was employed as Medical Officer between 1960 and 1966, before establishing his own general medical practice.

Atapattu was first elected to parliament at the 8th parliamentary elections in July 1977,^[5] representing the United National Party in the Beliatta electorate, where he defeated the sitting member, Mahinda Rajapaksa, by over 6,000 votes. President J. R. Jayewardene, reluctant to give up the massive majority his party secured in 1977, held a referendum to cancel the 1983 parliamentary elections, and extend the life of the 1977 parliament until 1989. Jayewardene also decreed that all United National Party parliamentarians, whose electoral districts had not supported the referendum, would have to run in a by-election. Atapattu resigned from his seat on 10 February 1983,^[6] but was subsequently successful in the May 1983 by-elections, defeating Rajapaksa by nearly 3,000 votes.^[7]

Atapattu was appointed the Minister for Colombo Group of Hospitals (a project Ministry under the Ministry of Health) in August 1978.^[8] He was then appointed as the Minister of Health in the Jayewardene cabinet in 1982^[9] and held the position until 1989. At the 1989 parliamentary elections, he ran as the United National Party candidate in the Hambantota electorate and was duly elected with 10,381 preference votes (18.35%), behind Rajapaksa's 13,073 preference votes (23.11%).^[10] In 18 February 1989, Atapattu was appointed Minister of Labour and Social Welfare as part of the Premadasa cabinet and held the position until 5 January 1990.^[11]

See also

• List of political families in Sri Lanka