Suveen Sanis Walgampola

Suveen Sanis Walgampola is a community advocate and co-founder of Duality, an organisation for Sri Lankan youths in New Zealand. He is also a member of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand and was the candidate for the Mount Roskill electorate in the 2023 general election.^[1]

Suveen Sanis Walgampola
Personal details
Born	Colombo, Sri Lanka
Nationality	New Zealand
Political party	Green
Website	https://www.greens.org.nz/suveen_sanis_walgampola_2023

Biography

Walgampola was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and is Sinhalese.^[2] He moved to New Zealand at the age of two.^[3] Growing up in Auckland, he attended Auckland Grammar School from 2004 to 2009, then Massey University from 2010 to 2014 where he studied a Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.), Banking, Corporate, Finance, and Securities Law.^[4][5] In 2016 Walgampola completed a Graduate Diploma in Commerce, Operations, and Supply Chain Management from the University of Auckland.^[4]

Walgampola is the co-founder of Duality, an organisation for Sri Lankan youths in New Zealand.^[3] In supporting the Sri Lankan diasporic community in Aotearoa New Zealand, Walgampola aims to foster support for identity formation and success among the community.^[3][5][2] Duality organises community engagement projects, mentorship programmes and knowledge and story sharing opportunities.^[3]

Suveen Sanis Walgampola Green Party Candidate, 2023

In 2020 Walgampola volunteered for the Green Party election campaign.^[6] In 2023 Walgampola ran as the candidate for the Mount Roskill electorate and received 12.12% of votes behind the Labour Party's Michael Wood (30.4%) and National Party member Carlos Cheung (43.40%).^[7][8] Walgampola advocates for a community-led attitude towards politics and focuses on issues supporting tino rangatiratanga and migrant and minority voices.^[4]

Before being involved in New Zealand politics, Walgampola was a mental health support worker.^[9]

Walgampola practices the art form of Geta Beraya, the traditional Sri Lankan drums.^[2]