| Honorific-Prefix: | Hon. |
| Suresh Premachandran | |
| Native Name: | சுரேஷ் பிரேமச்சந்திரன் |
| Native Name Lang: | ta |
| Honorific-Suffix: | MP |
| Constituency Mp1: | Jaffna District |
| Parliament1: | Sri Lankan |
| Term Start1: | 1989 |
| Term End1: | 1994 |
| Term Start2: | 2004 |
| Term End2: | 2015 |
| Birth Date: | 8 November 1957 |
| Birth Place: | Jaffna, Dominion of Ceylon |
| Nationality: | Sri Lankan |
| Party: | Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front |
| Otherparty: | Tamil National Alliance |
Arumugam Kandaiah Premachandran (Tamil: 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 (EPRLF), a member of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).
Premachandran was born on 8 November 1957, the son of a farmer.[1] [2] He was educated at Uruthirapuram Maha Vidyalayam and Senguntha Hindu College.[2] He then joined Waterloo College, London and Madras Christian College where he studied political science.[2]
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 (EROS).[2] He received military training from the Palestinians in Lebanon.[2] In 1979 K. Pathmanabha left EROS to form the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) and Premachandran joined him.[2] [3] He took on the nom de guerre Suresh and was a member of the EPRLF's central committee and politburo.[2] Premachandran took on the leadership of EPRLF following the assassination of Pathmanabha by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on 19 June 1990.
Premachandran was one of the ENDLF/EPRLF/TELO/TULF alliance's candidates in Jaffna District at the 1989 parliamentary election. He was elected and entered Parliament.[4]
On 20 October 2001 the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, EPRLF, Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization and Tamil United Liberation Front formed the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).[5] [6] He contested the 2001 parliamentary election as one of the TNA's candidates in Jaffna District but failed to get elected.[7]
Premachandran contested the 2004 parliamentary election as one of the TNA's candidates in Jaffna District. He was elected and re-entered Parliament.[8] He was re-elected at the 2010 parliamentary election.[9] He failed to get re-elected at the 2015 parliamentary election after coming seventh amongst the TNA candidates.[10] [11] [12]
| Constituency | scope=col | Party | scope=col | Votes | scope=col | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elected | ||||||
| Not elected | ||||||
| Elected | ||||||
| Elected | ||||||
| 2015 parliamentary[13] | Not elected |