2.6.2008
The
remains of late Reggie Ranatunga lie at his residence
in Udugampola and the funeral of the veteran Sri Lankan
politician will take place today.
Reggie
Ranatunga was born on April 22, 1937. He had his primary
education at the Minuwangoda Nalanda Collage and entered
Kotte Ananda Sasthralaya to continue his secondary education.
His
keen interest in politics led him to enter the Moscow
Faculty of Science in 1960.
Mr.
Ranatunga entered active politics in 1962. A staunch SLFPer,
his family faced numerous bitter experiences after the
UNP swept to power in 1977. His house was set on fire.
Appointed
as the SLFP Organizer for Minuwangoda in 1986, Reggie
first entered parliament in 1989. He was re-elected in
1994, 2000 and 2001. He finally entered parliament a few
months ago upon the death of Sripathy Sooriyarachchi,
at the time he was serving as the Governor of the Sabaragamuwa
province.
Reggie
Ranatunga served as the Minister of Civil Aviation in
2002.
Reggie
Ranatunga held several junior Minister Posts and also
functioned as the Chief Government Whip.
He
was also the proud father three Sri Lankan test cricketers,
one of whom, Arjuna, Captain of the team won the ‘World
Cup’ in 1996.