P. S. Soosaithasan Explained

Honorific-Prefix:Hon.
P. S. Soosaithasan
Native Name:பி. எஸ். சூசைதாசன்
Native Name Lang:ta
Honorific-Suffix:MP
Constituency Mp:Mannar
Parliament:Sri Lankan
Term Start1:1977
Term End1:1983
Predecessor1:S. A. Raheem
Birth Date:24 July 1934
Party:Tamil National Alliance
Profession:Accountant
Blank1:Ethnicity
Data1:Sri Lankan Tamil
Blank2:Religion
Data2:Catholic

Pilesiyan Sosai Soosaithasan (Tamil: பிலேசியன் சூசை சூசைதாசன்|translit=Pilēciyaṉ Cūcai Cūcaitācaṉ; 24 July 1934  - 13 October 2017) was a Sri Lankan Tamil accountant, politician and Member of Parliament.

Early life

Soosaithasan was born on 24 July 1934.[1] He was from Vankalai in northern Ceylon and was a Catholic.[2]

Career

Soosaithasan was an accountant and worked in Ceylon, United Kingdom, Zambia and Canada.[2] He was chief accountant at Lanka Salu Sala, the state owned hand loom and textile manufacturer.[3]

Soosaithasan stood as the Tamil United Liberation Front's candidate in Mannar at the 1977 parliamentary election. He won the election and entered Parliament.[4] He served as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee.[2] Soosaithasan and all other TULF MPs boycotted Parliament from the middle of 1983 for a number of reasons: they were under pressure from Sri Lankan Tamil militants not to stay in Parliament beyond their normal six-year term; the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka required them to swear an oath unconditionally renouncing support for a separate state; and the Black July riots in which up to 3,000 Tamils were killed by Sinhalese mobs. After three months of absence, Soosaithasan forfeited his seat in Parliament on 22 October 1983.[5]

Later Soosaithasan migrated to Canada where some of his children were living, taking up Canadian citizenship and working as an accountant in the private and public sector.[2] After retirement Soosaithasan returned to Sri Lanka to live in Vankalai, taking up dual citizenship.[2]

Soosaithasan was one of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) candidates in Vanni District at the 2010 parliamentary election but failed to get elected after coming sixth amongst the TNA candidates.[6]

Soosaithasan died on 13 October 2017 in Sri Lanka.[2]

Electoral history

Election! scope=col
Constituencyscope=colPartyscope=colVotesscope=colResult
Elected
Not elected

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Directory of Past Members: Soosaithasan, Pilesiyan Sosai. Parliament of Sri Lanka. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, Sri Lanka. 14 October 2017.
  2. Web site: Jeyaraj. D. B. S.. Former TULF Mannar MP Soosaithasan Passes Away at the Age of 83 in Sri Lanka. 14 October 2017. 14 October 2017.
  3. News: Sameer. Firoze. Appreciation – Ranil Mendis. The Sunday Times. 10 December 2010. Colombo, Sri Lanka. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402092220/http://www.sundaytimes.lk/features/appreciationsletters/appreciation-ranil-mendis.html. 2 April 2015.
  4. Web site: Results of Parliamentary General Election - 1977. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 21.
  5. News: Wickramasinghe. Wimal. Saga of crossovers, expulsions and resignations etc. Referendum for of Parliament. The Island. 18 January 2008. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 14 October 2017.
  6. Web site: Parliamentary General Election - 2010 Vanni Preferences. Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Colombo, Sri Lanka. https://web.archive.org/web/20100513035435/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/GE2010_preferences/Vanni_pref_GE2010.pdf. 13 May 2010.