Sanjay Rajaratnam

Sanjay Rajaratnam
47th Attorney General of Sri Lanka
In office
26 May 2021 – 26 June 2024
Appointed byGotabaya Rajapaksa
Preceded byDappula de Livera
47th Solicitor General of Sri Lanka
In office
October 2019 – 26 May 2021
Preceded byDilrukshi Dias Wickramasinghe
Personal details
CitizenshipSri Lankan
NationalitySri Lankan
Parent
  • Sivakumaran Rajaratnam (Advocate) [1] (father)
Education
  • Royal College Colombo
  • St Peters College Colombo
Alma mater
OccupationLawyer
ProfessionAttorney-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.

Family and Education

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]

Legal offices
Preceded by Solicitor General of Sri Lanka
2019–2021
Succeeded by
Preceded by Attorney General of Sri Lanka
2021-
Succeeded by
Incumbent

References

  1. ^ a b "Appreciations".
  2. ^ "Rajaratnam confirmed as new AG | Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Sanjay Rajaratnam PC considered for Attorney General". Sri Lanka News - Newsfirst. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Acting Solicitor General Sanjay Rajaratnam tipped to become next AG". www.adaderana.lk. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Parliamentary Council agrees to appoint Sanjay Rajaratnam as Attorney General". The Morning - Sri Lanka News. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Sanjay Rajaratnam sworn in as Sri Lanka's new Attorney General". Colombo Page. 26 May 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  7. ^ "Obituaries | Online edition of Daily News - Lakehouse Newspapers". archives.dailynews.lk.
  8. ^ "He was a well known versatile and skilful advocate". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 18 July 2021. Archived from the original on 6 May 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2023 – via PressReader.
  9. ^ https://www.attorneygeneral.gov.lk/?page_id=1222 [bare URL]
  10. ^ a b c "In Brief". archives.sundayobserver.lk. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  11. ^ "SC calls for discipline at SLI". www.sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  12. ^ admin (2 October 2019). "Sanjay Rajaratnam appointed acting Solicitor General". Colombo Gazette. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  13. ^ "Sanjay Rajaratnam appointed Acting Solicitor General". The Morning - Sri Lanka News. 2 October 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  14. ^ "Parliament Council approves Sanjay Rajaratnam as AG". Daily News. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Sanjay Rajaratnam approved as new Attorney General". www.adaderana.lk. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  16. ^ "Parliamentary Council approves Sanjay Rajaratnam as new AG". Sri Lanka News - Newsfirst. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  17. ^ "Parliamentary Council agrees to appoint Sanjay Rajaratnam as Attorney General". www.news.lk. Retrieved 21 May 2021.