Virasipillai Albert Alegacone was a Ceylon Tamil politician and Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

.

Early life

Alegacone was born on 19 March 1903. He was the son of Bastiampillai Virasipillai Sinniah and Annamah. He was from one of the leading families in Mannar

Mannar, Sri Lanka

Mannar , formerly spelled Manar, is the capital of Mannar District, Sri Lanka. It is located on Mannar Island.Mannar is known for its baobab trees and for its fort, built by the Portuguese in 1560 and taken by the Dutch in 1658 and rebuilt; its ramparts and bastions are intact, though the interior...

 in northern British Ceylon

British Ceylon

British Ceylon refers to British rule prior to 1948 of the island territory now known as Sri Lanka.-From the Dutch to the British:Before the beginning of the Dutch governance, the island of Ceylon was divided between the Portuguese Empire and the Kingdom of Kandy, who were in the midst of a war for...

. He was educated at St. Xavier's Boys' College

St. Xavier's Boys' College

St. Xavier's Boys' College is a boys public national school in Mannar, Sri Lanka.-External links:*...

, Mannar. He joined the legal profession, becoming a proctor

Proctor

Proctor, a variant of the word procurator, is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The word proctor is frequently used to describe someone who oversees an exam or dormitory.The title is used in England in three principal senses:...

 and a notary public

Notary public

A notary public in the common law world is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business...

, and practising law in Mannar. He was president of Mannar and Jaffna Diocesan Council for a number of years.

Alegacone married Mary Sebastiammah, daughter of Bastiampillai Arasaratnam. They had five children - Arunthathie, Thevathasan, Balendra, Sathiyavan and Arichandran.

Political career

Alegacone was elected to Mannar Town Council in the 1940s. He served as the council's chairman between 1947 and 1956.

Alegacone stood as an independent candidate

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

 for Mannar

Mannar Electoral District

Mannar Electoral District was an electoral district of Sri Lanka between August 1947 and February 1989. The district was named after the town of Mannar in Mannar District, Northern Province. The 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka introduced the proportional representation electoral system for electing...

 at the 1952 parliamentary election but was unsuccessful. He later joined the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi

Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi

Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi is a Sri Lankan political party which represents the Sri Lankan Tamil ethnic minority in the country. It was originally formed in 1949 as breakaway faction of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress...

 (Federal Party) and became an active member of the party. He was ITAK's candidate for Mannar at the 1956 parliamentary election. He won the election and entered Parliament

Parliament of Ceylon

The Parliament of Ceylon was the legislative body of Ceylon established in 1947 by the Soulbury Constitution, prior to independence on 4 February 1948...

. He was re-elected at the March 1960, July 1960, 1965 and 1970 parliamentary elections.