party was dismissed from government following a split. He lost his seat at the 1977 parliament elections along with all the leftists who contested. Party leader After death of Dr. N. M. Perera the LSSP leader, Colvin de Silva became the leader and the party nominated de Silva as its presidential candidate in 1982. He finished 5th and only polled around 1% of the votes cast, as the election was polarised between the ruling United National Party and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party – the latter being backed by almost all the other left parties. In 1987 he led a protests against the ban on May Day rallies in Sri Lanka and suffered a serious burn injury to one of his feet due to a tear gas cartridge that was thrown at the protesters by the police, which troubled him till his death. In 1988 his party came to an alliance with three other leftist parties to form United Socialist Alliance (USA) from which he was nominated as a national list member of parliament (MP). Death He died a few days prior to taking his oath as an MP under new alliance on 27 February 1989 in Colombo. Union Place, Colombo was named after him. Family Colvin R. de Silva married Pettagan Suvineetha De Silva from his home town of Balapitiya. She was the daughter of Pettagan Benial De Silva, a businessman. They had two daughters and one son. All their children took to law with both daughters becoming barristers. Their eldest Manouri Muttetuwegama was a former Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka and was married to Sarath Muttetuwegama, Communist Party member of Parliament. Their youngest was Nalina and their only son was Nalina Visvajith. The family lived down Abdul Gafoor Mawatha in Colpetty. He was a cousin of Charles Percival de Silva. Publications De Silva, Colvin R., Ceylon Under the British Occupation, 1795–1833 First published 1941. Reprint: Delhi, Vedam Books, 1995 De Silva, Colvin R., An Outline of the Permanent Revolution References External links Dr. Colvin R De Silva in Sinhala Official Website of Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) Dr. Colvin R. de Silva: undying legend Hartal!, article by de Silva from 1953 New York Times Obituary Amara Samara in Sinhala 1907 births 1987 deaths 20th-century Sri Lankan lawyers Alumni of King's College London Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Alumni of St. John's College, Panadura Alumni