16 Facts About Arumugam Thondaman

Savumiamoorthy Arumugam Ramanathan Thondaman was a Sri Lankan politician who served as a Cabinet Minister.

Arumugam Thondaman was the grandson of prominent unionist Saumyamoorthi Thondaman.

Arumugam Thondaman was the leader of the Ceylon Workers' Congress, a Member of Parliament representing the Nuwara Eliya District and was an advocate for the Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka.

Arumugam Thondaman was regarded as one of the prominent politicians from Nuwara Eliya.

Arumugam Thondaman received his primary and secondary education at the Royal College, Colombo.

Arumugam Thondaman entered politics in 1985 and he entered the mainstream politics when he contested the 1994 general elections from the Nuwara Eliya Electoral District representing the United National Party and was elected to the Parliament of Sri Lanka.

Arumugam Thondaman succeeded his grandfather Saumyamoorthi Thondaman as the leader of the Ceylon Workers' Congress party in 1999.

Arumugam Thondaman was consistently re-elected parliament in all elections held from 1994 to 2015, holding his parliamentary seat and the post of party leader until his death.

Arumugam Thondaman served as a cabinet minister of UNP for a brief stint and joined the Sri Lanka Freedom Party later in 2016.

Arumugam Thondaman was due to contest at the upcoming parliamentary election representing Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna from the Nuwara Eliya district.

Arumugam Thondaman was admitted to Thalangama Base Hospital in the evening after being reported to have died from serious injuries after a fall at his residence on 26 May 2020.

Arumugam Thondaman was later confirmed to have died following a heart attack at the age of 55.

Arumugam Thondaman died just 3 days before his 56th birthday.

Arumugam Thondaman served as the cabinet minister of Community Empowerment and Estate Infrastructure Development until his death.

Arumugam Thondaman's body was laid in the parliament until 31 May 2020.

The funeral of Arumugam Thondaman was held on 31 May 2020 in Norwood, village in Nuwara Eliya amid curfew in the area with state honours and the politicians including Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa paid their last respect and tribute.