Namal Rajapaksa

Lakshman Namal Rajapaksa (ලක්ශ්මන් නාමල් රාජපක්ෂ; born 10 April 1986; known as Namal Rajapaksa) is a Sri Lankan politician.

He is the eldest son of Sri Lankan former President and former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and a member of parliament.

Rajapaksa was born on 10 April 1986.

He is the son of Mahinda Rajapaksa and Shiranthi (née Wickremesinghe).

He has two younger brothers – Yoshitha and Rohitha.

His paternal grandfather Don Alwin Rajapaksa was a member of parliament and Minister of Agriculture and Land in Wijeyananda Dahanayake's government.

Rajapaksa was educated at S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia, where he captained the school's 1st XV rugby team.

After school Rajapaksa joined Cardiff University to study law.

In 2000, he led the Sri Lanka national under 16 team.

Rajapaksa first played for the school's senior team in 2002 and captained the 1st XV team in 2005.

He also led the Sri Lanka under 19 team in 2004.

When he joined Cardiff University, he played in the university's rugby team from 2005 to 2006.

Rajapaksa's Father was an MP for Hambantota District for 16 years before becoming President in 2005.

It is widely believed that Rajapaksa is being groomed to succeed his Father.

Rajapaksa is often seen at state events and is the chief guests at ceremonies inaugurating new roads, bridges, schools and other government buildings.

Although Rajapaksa holds no government position, he has made numerous official foreign trips, sometimes accompanying his father.

He also played for City University London from 2006 to 2009.

He then went to City University London from where he graduated in September 2009 with a third-class degree law degree.

Rajapaksa then joined Sri Lanka Law College to qualify as an attorney at law.

He sat the college's preliminary exam in October 2009 and passed with second class honours.

It was alleged that Rajapaksa sat the exam in a special cubicle that was set aside for him and the college's principal accompanied him.

In 2009, he first played for the Navy SC, who he captained in 2010–2011.

In December 2010, several media sources reported that Rajapaksa had allegedly received preferential treatment during his final examination at Sri Lanka Law College.

A fellow law student, Thushara Jayarathna, alleged that Rajapaksa had been given a separate room along with an internet enabled computer, later filing a complaint with the Law College examination system, Keselwaththa police station and the Supreme Court.

In 2010, Rajapaksa was invited to play for the Sri Lanka national rugby union team and in 2013 was appointed the team's captain, a position he retained until he retired from competitive rugby in July 2014.

Rajapaksa contested the 2010 parliamentary election as one of the United People's Freedom Alliance's candidates in Hambantota District and was elected to Parliament.

Media and NGO sources reports that Jayarathna's complaints were largely ignored or rejected, although he appeared before the college authorities early in January 2011.

After the incident, sources reported that Jayarathna had been allegedly abducted and beaten up by the police, and that he also received multiple death threats traced to the police and the college.

According to the principal of the college, an investigation had been held but it concluded that the allegations "were based on hearsay" and "unfounded".

Although the official investigation didn't find anything irregular, the threats against Jayarathna have not been investigated.

The Colombo Telegraph reported that the consequences of Jayarathna's reporting wasn't unusual and that he is one of several others who have been harassed or persecuted after filing complaints against the ruling family or the police.

Chief Justice Asoka de Silva also questioned the investigation, saying "We have only one Law College in Sri Lanka. If there are suspicions over its credibility, it will affect the whole profession."

Rajapaksa was sworn in as an attorney at law on 15 December 2011 in front of a panel of Supreme Court judges including Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake.

Wasim Thajudeen was a Sri Lankan rugby union player who played for Havelock Sports Club and the national team.

Thajudeen was killed in a car crash on 17 May 2012 which was initially pronounced to be an accident but is currently being investigated as a murder.

It has been reported that Namal Rajapaksa may be involved in the murder, due to Thajudeen having been in conflict with a 'young politician', likely Namal Rajapaksa, of the Rajapaksa administration over the acquisition of the Havelock Sports Club.

There are also credible claims that rivalry over a woman prompted Namal Rajapaksa to order members of the Presidential Security Division (PSD) to abduct, torture and murder Thajudeen.

Namal Rajapaksa has denied all allegations against him, enjoying the impunity granted by his father, Mahinda.

Rajapaksa played rugby for S. Thomas' College representing the school in all age groups - under 9s, 13s, 15s and 17s.

He was the Minister of Youth and Sports from 2020 to 2022.