M. M. Mustapha | |
|---|---|
| DeputyMinister of Justice | |
| In office 1970–1975 | |
| Parliamentary Secretary to theMinister of Social Services | |
| In office 1965–1970 | |
| Member of theCeylon Parliament forPottuvil | |
| In office 1956–1960 | |
| Preceded by | M. M. Ebrahim |
| Succeeded by | M. A. Abdul Majeed |
| Member of theCeylon Parliament forNintavur | |
| In office 1965–1977 | |
| Preceded by | M. I. M. Abdul Majeed |
| Succeeded by | M. A. Abdul Majeed |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1924-07-16)16 July 1924 Nintavur, Ceylon |
| Died | 3 October 2000(2000-10-03) (aged 76) |
| Political party | United National Party |
| Relations | Meeralebbe Podi Vanniar (father), Meera Ummah (mother) |
| Alma mater | Batticaloa Methodist Central College,Ceylon Law College |
| Occupation | Lawyer, politician |
Al-HajMeeralebbe Poddy Mohamed Mustapha (10 July 1924 – 3 October 2000) was a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician.[1][2]
Meeralebbe Poddy Mohamed Mustapha was born inNintavur on 16 July 1924, the son of Meeralebbe PodiVanniar and Meera Ummah. He received his early education in Nintavur, before attendingBatticaloa Methodist Central College. Following which he graduated from theCeylon Law College as anadvocate. Mustapha then passed the Inter-Law Exam at theLondon University.[3]
In 1948 he began practicing law inBatticaloa.[3]
Mustapha married the eldest daughter ofGate MudaliyarMohammed Samsudeen Kariapper, the chairman ofKalmunai Town Council and the member forKalmunai.[4][5]
He first ran forparliament at the1952 Ceylonese parliamentary election in thePottuvil electorate, held in May 1952, running as theIllankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (Federal Party) candidate. He was narrowly defeated by the sitting member,Meerakuddy Mohamed Ebrahim, with a margin of 559 votes.[6]
At the3rd parliamentary election, held in April 1956, Ebrahim chose not to run due to poor health and Mustapha was successful in securing the seat for the Federal Party,[5][7] receiving 8,355 votes (51.8% of the total vote) defeating his nearest opponent, M. I. M. Abdul Majeed, by 3,729 votes.[8] He resigned from the Federal Party in 1958 as he opposed the party's proposedsatyagraha movement.[9] In June 1959Prime MinisterS. W. R. D. Bandaranaike appointed Mustapha as theParliamentary Secretary to theMinister of Finance in hiscabinet. Following Bandaranaike's assassination in September,Wijeyananda Dahanayake who took over as prime minister appointed Mustapha as the Minister of Finance in November, becoming the first Muslim Minister of Finance.[3]
At the4th parliamentary election, held in March 1960, Mustapha contested the newly created seat ofNintavur. He failed to get elected and was defeated byM. I. M. Abdul Majeed by 4,627 votes.[10] He re-contested the seat at the subsequentparliamentary elections in July, where he lost again to Majeed, this time by 7,776 votes. He was ultimately successful at the6th parliamentary election, held in March 1965, as theUnited National Party candidate, defeating Majeed by 4,3899 votes.[11][12] Following the election he was appointed by Prime MinisterDudley Senanayake as the Parliamentary Secretary to theMinister of Social Services.[3][13]
Mustapha was re-elected at the7th parliamentary election, held in May 1970, by only 75 votes, securing 13,481 votes (49% of the total vote).[14] He switched political allegiances and joined theSri Lanka Freedom Party.[15] In 1976 he was appointed as the deputyMinister of Justice by Prime MinisterSirimavo Bandaranaike after she elevatedRatnasiri Wickremanayake to the position of Minister.[3][15]
At the1977 Sri Lankan parliamentary election he contested thePottuvil electorate as the Sri Lanka Freedom Party candidate. He placed third after polling 22,378 votes (25% of the total vote), behind the United National Party candidate,A. M. Mohamed Jalaldeen, who received 30,318 votes (34% of the total vote) and theTamil United Liberation Front candidate,Mylvaganam Canagaratnam, with 23,990 votes.[16]
He was a member of theEastern University Council.[3]
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