View source for D. P. Atapattu

{{Short description|Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (1899–1976)}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:D. P. Atapattu}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{EngvarB|date=May 2017}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[The Honourable|Hon.]]
| name                = D. P. Atapattu
| native_name         = {{nobold|{{lang|si|ඩී. පී. අතපත්තු}}<br/>{{lang|ta|டி. பி. அட்டப்பட்டு}}}}
| honorific-suffix    = [[JP, UM|JPUM]]
| image               = D. P. Atapattu - 1966.jpg
| alt                 = Black and white photo of D. P. Atapattu wearing a suit, facing to another person who has been cropped out
| caption             = Atapattu in 1966
| order1              = [[Parliamentary Secretary]] to the [[Minister of State (Ceylon)|Cabinet Minister of State]]
| minister1           = [[J. R. Jayewardene]]
| term_start1         = 1965
| term_end1           = 1970
| predecessor1        = order created
| successor1          = order abolished
| constituency_MP2    = [[Beliatta Electoral District|Beliatta]]
| parliament2         = Ceylon
| term_start2         = 1965
| term_end2           = 1970
| predecessor2        = [[D. A. Rajapaksa]]
| successor2          = [[Mahinda Rajapaksa]]
| term_start3         = March 1960
| term_end3           = July 1960
| predecessor3        = D. A. Rajapaksa
| successor3          = D. A. Rajapaksa
| birth_name          = Don Peter Atapattu
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1899|09|17|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Nakulugamuwa]], [[Tangalle]],<br/>Sri Lanka
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1976|12|14|1899|09|17|df=y}}
| death_place         = Tangalle, Sri Lanka
| nationality         = [[Ceylon]]ese
| party               = [[United National Party]]
| occupation          = [[Politics]]
| spouse              = Daya Dahanayake
| partner             = <!--For those with a domestic partner and not married -->
| relations           = [[List of political families in Sri Lanka#Atapattu|Atapattu family]]<br/>
[[Karunasena Kodituwakku|Dr Karunasena Kodituwakku]]
| children            = {{flatlist|
* [[Ranjit Atapattu|Ranjit]]
* Indrani
}}
| residence           = <!--Unknown -->
| alma_mater          = [[Ananda College|Ananda College, Colombo]]
| profession          = [[Lawyer]]
| signature           = <!--Unknown -->
| website             = <!--Unknown -->
| footnotes           = <!--Unknown -->
| parents             = Don Johannes Atapattu<br/>Kadawedduwage Dona Carolina Wijekoon
}}

'''Don Peter Atapattu,''' [[Unofficial magistrate|JPUM]] ([[Sinhala language|Sinhala]]: දොන් පීටර් අතපත්තු; [[Tamil language|Tamil]]: டான் பீட்டர் அட்டப்பட்டு; 17 September 1899 – 14 December 1976) was a Ceylonese politician and [[Parliament of Sri Lanka|Member of Parliament]] who represented the [[Beliatta Electoral District|Beliatta electorate]] in [[Hambantota District|Hambantota district]] from March 1960 to July 1960 and from 1965 to 1970. A founding member of the [[United National Party]] (UNP) in 1947, he was also the [[Parliamentary Secretary]] to the [[Minister of State (Ceylon)|Cabinet Minister of State]], [[J. R. Jayewardene]].

== Early life and education ==
[[File:AnandaCollege-Colombo 1920.jpg|alt=Monochrome photo of Ananda College school grounds in 1920|left|thumb|[[Ananda College]] in 1920. D. P. Atapattu was an alumnus of Ananda.]]
Don Peter Atapattu was born in Nakulugamuwa Walawwa in the town of [[Beliatta]]<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Obituary |url=https://www.sundaytimes.lk/040215/obituary.htm |access-date=2025-04-18 |website=www.sundaytimes.lk}}</ref> on 17 September 1899 to Don Johannes Atapattu and Kadawedduwage Dona Carolina Wijekoon.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Family #1002 D. Philipsz |url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~lkawgw/gen3054.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710164416/http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~lkawgw/gen3054.htm |archive-date=2017-07-10 |access-date=2025-05-20 |website=rootsweb.ancestry.com}}</ref> Johannes Atapattu was the [[Registrar of Births and Deaths]] for Nakulugamuwa in 1915 and was later awarded the title of [[Muhandiram]] in 1938.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 26, 1915 |title=1915 -JAN-MARCH_E_6700_012.pdf |url=https://diglib.natlib.lk/bitstream/handle/123456789/17701/1915%20-JAN-MARCH_E_6700_012.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |access-date=April 19, 2025 |website=diglib.natlib.lk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=June 9, 1938 |title=8372-i.pdf |url=https://diglib.natlib.lk/bitstream/handle/123456789/27275/8372-i.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |access-date=April 19, 2025 |website=diglib.natlib.lk}}</ref> He had six younger brothers, Don Charles "D. C.", Buddhadasa, Luvi, Sugathadasa, Piyadasa and Charles; and one sister, Soma who was the mother-in-law of [[Karunasena Kodituwakku]].<ref name=":2" />

Atapattu first entered the prestigious [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] school [[S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia]]. His classics master, [[T. B. Jayah]] found that Atapattu did not have ideas that would fit in the discipline expected by warden [[S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia#Wardens|William Arthur Stone]], so he suggested him to join [[Ananda College|Ananda College, Colombo]].{{sfn|Wijesinha|1999|loc=para. 15}} At Ananda, Atapattu was educated under his new principal, [[Patrick de Silva Kularatne|P. de S. Kularatne]], a novel idealist for the education of the Ceylonese. He was influenced by the teachers who were enthusiastic about the students there, including [[V.T.S. Sivagurunathan|V. T. S. Sivagurunathan]].{{sfn|Wijesinha|1999|loc=para. 16}}

After graduating from Ananda, Atapattu enrolled as a law student in various schools, including Mahabodhi College. He was one of the [[upper school]] teachers and was also responsible for the [[Safety drill|students' drills]] and games throughout the 1922–23 school year.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dharmapala |first=Anagarika |author-link=Anagarika Dharmapala |title=Maha Bodhi And The United Buddhist World |publisher=[[The Maha Bodhi Society]] |year=1923 |volume=31 |pages=151 |language=en |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.70769}}</ref>

== Early political career ==

=== Ceylon National Congress ===
In 1919, Atapattu joined the [[Ceylon National Congress]], where he represented the [[Hambantota District]] in Southern Province, Sri Lanka.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.google.com.my/books/edition/Documents_of_the_Ceylon_National_Congres/g-wJAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1 |title=Documents of the Ceylon National Congress and Nationalist Politics in Ceylon, 1929-1950 |publisher=[[Department of National Archives]] |year=1977 |volume=1 |pages=867 |language=en}}</ref> He was interested by the harmony among the Sinhalese and Tamil leadership, but got disillusioned when the [[Sri Lankan civil war#Repetitive alternation of the Colombo town seat between the Sinhalese and Tamils|Sinhala leaders of the CNC fought with the Tamils over the reserving of the Colombo seat]].{{sfn|Wijesinha|1999|loc=para. 10}}

=== Legal career ===
In 1927, Atapattu was [[Call to the bar|called to the bar]] as a [[proctor]] to the [[Supreme Court of Ceylon]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=1946-fergusons-ceylon-directory.pdf |page=534 |url=https://www.historyofceylontea.com/ceylon-publications/fergusons-directory/1946-fergusons-ceylon-directory/pdf/resources/1946-fergusons-ceylon-directory.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241205075758/https://www.historyofceylontea.com/ceylon-publications/fergusons-directory/1946-fergusons-ceylon-directory/pdf/resources/1946-fergusons-ceylon-directory.pdf |archive-date=2024-12-05 |access-date=2025-05-20 |website=www.historyofceylontea.com}}</ref> He thereafter started his legal practice in legal affairs in the [[Unofficial Bar]] in Tangalle.{{sfn|Wijesinha|1999|loc=para. 14 & 18}} His success in making Tangalle eligible to be raised to an [[Tangalle Urban Council|Urban Council]] saw him become its first chairman in 1945. Later, he was also chosen as the [[crown proctor]] of the [[Hambantota District]].{{sfn|Wijesinha|1999|loc=para. 20}}

=== State Council of Ceylon ===
After obtaining his Bachelor of Arts in London and becoming an [[Advocate#Sri Lanka|advocate]], he began to have interest in politics. He was elected to the newly formed [[State Council of Ceylon]] in 1931 as the chairperson for the [[Dumbara]] seat.{{sfn|Wijesinha|1999|loc=para. 13}}

== United National Party (1947–1970) ==
When [[D. S. Senanayake]] formed the [[United National Party]] (UNP) in 1946,<ref>{{cite web |title=D. S. SENANAYAKE: A NATION'S FATHER and Undisputed Leader |url=http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=2016/03/22/features/77157 |website=www.dailynews.lk |access-date=April 16, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401124649/http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=2016/03/22/features/77157 |archive-date=April 1, 2016 |language=English |date=March 22, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> many politicians, including Atapattu and [[D. A. Rajapaksa]], joined the party. Early on, both Atapattu and Rajapaksa fought for the [[Beliatta Electoral District|Beliatta electorate]] in the Hambantota District at the six general parliamentary elections held between 1947 and 1965, but Rajapaksa left UNP in 1951 to join the [[Sri Lanka Freedom Party|Sri Lankan Freedom Party]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2002-01-03 |title=Asia Times: Chapter 14: Post-colonial realignment of political forces |url=http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/CK10Df03.html |access-date=2025-04-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020103152932/http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/CK10Df03.html |archive-date=3 January 2002 }}</ref> leading Atapattu to compete with his former member in the elections.

=== Parliamentary elections ===
Atapattu lost the [[1947 Ceylonese parliamentary election|1947 parliamentary election]] when his opponent defeated him by a majority of 14,007 votes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Results_1947.PDF - general-election-1947.pdf |url=https://elections.gov.lk/web/wp-content/uploads/election-results/parliamentary-elections/general-election-1947.pdf |access-date=26 June 2025 |website=elections.gov.lk |page=8}}</ref> Later on, in the [[1952 Ceylonese parliamentary election|1952]] and [[1956 Ceylonese parliamentary election]]s, Atapattu lost the seat with 13,750 and 10,382 votes, which was 3,632 and 15,833 votes less than the opposition, respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Results_1952.PDF - general-election-1952.pdf |url=https://elections.gov.lk/web/wp-content/uploads/election-results/parliamentary-elections/general-election-1952.pdf |access-date=26 June 2025 |website=elections.gov.lk |page=7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Results_1956.PDF - general-election-1956.pdf |url=https://elections.gov.lk/web/wp-content/uploads/election-results/parliamentary-elections/general-election-1956.pdf |access-date=26 June 2025 |website=elections.gov.lk |page=6}}</ref> At the [[March 1960 Ceylonese parliamentary election|parliamentary election of March 1960]], Atapattu won the Beliatta seat,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Results_19_03_1960_SM01.PDF - general-election-1960-03-19.pdf |url=https://elections.gov.lk/web/wp-content/uploads/election-results/parliamentary-elections/general-election-1960-03-19.pdf |access-date=26 June 2025 |website=elections.gov.lk |page=17}}</ref> but when the UNP government was dissolved due to not having a majority,{{efn|In March 1960, UNP did not reach the majority of 76 seats; they only got 50.{{r|r=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310000741/http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/election/general_election1960M.jsp}}}} his opponent regained the seat in the [[July 1960 Ceylonese parliamentary election|July 1960 parliamentary election]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Results_1960_07_20.PDF - general-election-1960-07-20.pdf |url=https://elections.gov.lk/web/wp-content/uploads/election-results/parliamentary-elections/general-election-1960-07-20.pdf |access-date=26 June 2025 |website=elections.gov.lk |page=10}}</ref>

In the [[1965 Ceylonese parliamentary election|1965 parliamentary election]], Atapattu won the Beliatta seat again with 20,735 votes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Results_1965 GENERAL ELECTION.PDF |url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1965%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100331212948/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1965%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF |archive-date=March 31, 2010 |access-date=26 June 2025 |website=www.slelections.gov.lk}}</ref> He became the [[Parliamentary Secretary]] to the [[Minister of State (Ceylon)|Cabinet Minister of State]], [[J. R. Jayewardene]] until 1970.{{Sfn|Wijesinha|1999|loc=para. 21}}<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1966 |title=The Commonwealth Relations Office Year Book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XelPAQAAMAAJ |journal=Great Britain. Office of Commonwealth Relations |volume=15 |page=375 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

=== Other events ===
In 1965, Atapattu led the Ceylonese delegation to the 11th [[Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference]] in Wellington, New Zealand.{{Sfn|Wijesinha|1999|loc=para. 21}}

== Last years ==
In 1970, Atapattu fell ill and left the United National Party. He died on 14 December 1976 at the age of 77 following a prolonged illness.{{Sfn|Wijieshina|1999|loc=para. 22}}

== Personal life ==
Atapattu married Daya Dahanayake in 1932.<ref name=":1" /> They had two children: [[Ranjit Atapattu|Ranjit]], who became the [[Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine#Ministers|Minister of Health]] in 1982; and Indrani, who later migrated to Australia.{{Sfn|Wijesinha|1999|loc=para. 19}}

== Legacy ==
On 26 September 1999, former [[Parliament of Sri Lanka#Parliament Secretariat|Secretary General of Parliament]] [[Sam Wijesinha]] wrote an article in ''[[The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)|The Sunday Times]]'' Plus Section, titled: "''Reflections on the life and times of D.P. Atapattu, JPUM, Crown Proctor and Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of State''". He wrote that Atapattu rendered reasonable service to the people of [[Ruhuna]], and reflecting on his time, one hopes that future generations would continue to help prevent the drifting towards an obscure future.{{Sfn|Wijeshina|1999}}

== See also ==
*[[List of political families in Sri Lanka]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin}}
{{Cite news |last=Wijesinha |first=Sam |author-link=Sam Wijesinha |date=September 26, 1999 |title=DP: A man who was one with the people |url=https://www.sundaytimes.lk/990926/plus7.html |access-date=2025-03-22 |website=sundaytimes.lk |publisher=[[The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080402100425/https://www.sundaytimes.lk/990926/plus7.html |archive-date=2008-04-02 |url-status=live}}
{{refend}}

{{Members of 4th Parliament of Ceylon}}
{{Members of 6th Parliament of Ceylon}}
{{Members of the Sri Lankan Parliament from Beliatta}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atapattu, Don Peter}}
[[Category:1899 births]]
[[Category:1976 deaths]]
[[Category:Ceylonese proctors]]
[[Category:Alumni of Ananda College]]
[[Category:United National Party politicians]]
[[Category:Members of the 4th Parliament of Ceylon]]
[[Category:Members of the 6th Parliament of Ceylon]]
[[Category:Parliamentary secretaries of Ceylon]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan justices of the peace and unofficial magistrates]]