D. P. Atapattu

Who was D. P. Atapattu?

Don Peter Atapattu, popularly known as D.P. Atapattu, was a Member of Parliament in Sri Lanka. Born at Nakulugamuwa Walauwa, Nakulugamuwa, Sri Lanka, he received his secondary education at St Thomas' College, Mt. Lavinia and Ananda College, Colombo. After graduating from Colombo Law College, he began a law practice in Tangalle. He represented the United National Party from the Beliatte electorate in Hambantota district in the six general elections held between 1947 and 1965. He won in March 1960 and 1965, while his long-standing rival, D.A. Rajapaksa, won in 1947, 1952, 1956, and July 1960. In the 1965 Dudley Senanayake government, Atapattu was Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Minister of State, J.R. Jayawardena. He died at his home in Tangalle in 1976. His son, Dr. Ranjit Atapattu, was Minister of Health from 1977 until 1989, and his grandson, Dr. Druvindra Atapattu, contested in the 2009 General Election.