Arumugam Kandaiah Premachandran ( ta, ஆறுமுகம் கந்தையா பிரேமச்சந்திரன்; born 8 November 1957; commonly known as Suresh Premachandran) is a Sri Lankan Tamil militant turned politician and former Member of Parliament. He is the current leader of the

Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front The Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) is a series of Sri Lankan political parties and a former militant separatist group. Militant separatists The EPRLF was formed in 1980 by K. Pathmanabha (Padmanaba), Douglas Devananda, S ...

(EPRLF), a member of the

Tamil National Alliance The Tamil National Alliance ( ta, தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பு ISO 15919: ''tamiḻt tēciyakkūṭṭamaippu''; TNA) is a political alliance in Sri Lanka that represents the country's Sri Lan ...

(TNA).

Early life

Premachandran was born on 8 November 1957, the son of a farmer. He was educated at Uruthirapuram Maha Vidyalayam and Senguntha Hindu College. He then joined Waterloo College, London and Madras Christian College where he studied political science. Premachandran got involved in the Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism movement whilst at school and in 1976, whilst in London, he joined the

Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students The Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students (EROS), also known as the Eelam Revolutionary Organisers, is a former Tamil militant group in Sri Lanka. Most of the EROS membership was absorbed into the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in ...

(EROS). He received military training from the Palestinians in Lebanon. In 1979 K. Pathmanabha left EROS to form the

(EPRLF) and Premachandran joined him. He took on the nom de guerre Suresh and was a member of the EPRLF's central committee and politburo. Premachandran took on the leadership of EPRLF following the assassination of Pathmanabha by the

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...

on 19 June 1990.

Career

Premachandran was one of the ENDLF/EPRLF/

TELO The Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) is an Eelam Tamil organisation which campaigned for the establishment of an independent Tamil Eelam in the northeast of Sri Lanka during 1972-1987 which later accepted the December 19th proposals. T ...

TULF The Tamil United Liberation Front ( ta, தமிழர் ஐக்கிய விடுதலை முன்னணி, translit=Tamil Onrupattatu Viduthulai Munnai, si, ද්‍රවිඩ එක්සත් විමුක්ති ප� ...

alliance's candidates in Jaffna District at the 1989 parliamentary election. He was elected and entered

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

. On 20 October 2001 the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, EPRLF,

Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization The Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO) is an Eelam Tamil organisation which campaigned for the establishment of an independent Tamil Eelam in the northeast of Sri Lanka during 1972-1987 which later accepted the December 19th proposals. ...

and

Tamil United Liberation Front The Tamil United Liberation Front ( ta, தமிழர் ஐக்கிய விடுதலை முன்னணி, translit=Tamil Onrupattatu Viduthulai Munnai, si, ද්‍රවිඩ එක්සත් විමුක්ති ප� ...

formed the

(TNA). He contested the 2001 parliamentary election as one of the TNA's candidates in Jaffna District but failed to get elected. Premachandran contested the 2004 parliamentary election as one of the TNA's candidates in Jaffna District. He was elected and re-entered Parliament. He was re-elected at the 2010 parliamentary election. He failed to get re-elected at the 2015 parliamentary election after coming seventh amongst the TNA candidates.

Electoral history

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Premachandran, Suresh 1957 births Living people Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front militants Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front politicians Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students militants Members of the 9th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 13th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 14th Parliament of Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Hindus Sri Lankan Tamil politicians Sri Lankan Tamil rebels Tamil National Alliance politicians