Ranil Wickremesinghe
13th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
Ranil Wickremesinghe, (born March 24, 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician and current Leader of the Opposition. He was Prime Minister of Sri Lanka twice, from May 7, 1993 to August 19, 1994 and from December 9, 2001 to April 6, 2004. A member of the United National Party he was appointed as party leader in November 1994 and in March 2009 he was appointed to the newly created post of senior party leader following opposition within the UNP regarding his leadership
Wickremesinghe's father was the press baron Esmond Wickremesinghe, an ex-Samasamajist and supremo of the Lake House group of newspapers
Wickremesinghe was educated at Royal College, Colombo where he was a classmate and a good friend of Anura Bandaranaike, son of then Prime Minister Solomon Bandaranaike and Dinesh Gunawardena, son of socialist leader Philip Gunawardena. Wickremesinghe entering the Faculty of Law at the University of Ceylon, Colombo campus (now University of Colombo). After graduation he completed the law exams at the Sri Lanka Law College and took oaths as an attorney-at-law. Of all the Presidents and Prime Ministers of Sri Lanka, Wickremesinghe is the only person to graduate from a local university, the remainder either not attending university or having degrees from foreign universities.
Wickremesinghe joined the United National Party (UNP) and progressed through its ranks. He was appointed as the chief organizer of the Kelaniya Parliamentary seat in the mid 1970s but was later appointed as the chief organizer of the Biyagama seat, which he won in the 1977 parliamentary elections.
Youngest cabinet minister
He was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in the new government of J. R. Jayawardene, and was soon promoted to the post of Minister of Youth Affairs and Employment, which made him the youngest cabinet minister of Sri Lanka. During his term as deputy minister, he created the Sri Lanka National Guard and the National Youth Services Council (NYSCO), which provides vocational and career training to school leavers. Wickramasinghe was later made the Minister of Education.
In 2001, Sri Lanka underwent severe losses in the warfront and the economy registered a -1% growth rate, the first ever negative growth in the country's history. By the end of the year, some members of the PA government led by S. B. Dissanayake, a senior Minister of the PA government, and Deputy Finance Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris left the PA to join the UNP thus destabilizing the Parliamentary composition which forced Kumaratunga to call for fresh elections. The United National Front (UNF), formed with the PA dissidents, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and the Ceylon Workers' Congress assumed power in the 2001 Parliamentary Elections held on December 10. Wickramasinghe's UNP won all but 6 of the 22 Electoral Districts in Sri Lanka. Thus Ranil Wickramasinghe took oaths as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka for the second time.
Three months after the elections, in an act that would define his premiership, Wickramasinghe signed a ceasefire agreement with the LTTE rebels and started peace talks with them, in hopes of ending the 20 year conflict in the island. This resulted in a visible development of the country. The civil war came to a halt; the North and South of the island was linked after decades and millions of people benefited as a result. During Wickramasinghe's term as Prime Minister, he also re-energized the economy to reach an economic growth rate of 6% and managed to keep the inflation down, at 2% - the country's lowest. His liberal economic policies stabilized the national economy. He also developed many international ties setup by him during his time in the Opposition. Sri Lanka underwent huge social changes during this period due to the ceasefire which made the country much accessible and open. The tigers however abruptly withdrew from the peace process in early 2003.
By November 2003 the LTTE showed willingness to reenter the peace talks by proposing an Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA). President Kumaratunga quickly shook off these proposals and assumed the Defense, Interior, and Media Ministries - which cut short the powers of the UNP regime. Soon President Kumaratunga's PA allied with radical socialist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna to form the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and Kumaratunga dissolved Parliament to call for new elections, through Ranil Wickramasinghe had the majority in Parliament and general elections not due for 3 years. President Kumaratunga would later concede that this was a mistake.
13th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
Ranil Wickremesinghe, (born March 24, 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician and current Leader of the Opposition. He was Prime Minister of Sri Lanka twice, from May 7, 1993 to August 19, 1994 and from December 9, 2001 to April 6, 2004. A member of the United National Party he was appointed as party leader in November 1994 and in March 2009 he was appointed to the newly created post of senior party leader following opposition within the UNP regarding his leadership
Wickremesinghe's father was the press baron Esmond Wickremesinghe, an ex-Samasamajist and supremo of the Lake House group of newspapers
Wickremesinghe was educated at Royal College, Colombo where he was a classmate and a good friend of Anura Bandaranaike, son of then Prime Minister Solomon Bandaranaike and Dinesh Gunawardena, son of socialist leader Philip Gunawardena. Wickremesinghe entering the Faculty of Law at the University of Ceylon, Colombo campus (now University of Colombo). After graduation he completed the law exams at the Sri Lanka Law College and took oaths as an attorney-at-law. Of all the Presidents and Prime Ministers of Sri Lanka, Wickremesinghe is the only person to graduate from a local university, the remainder either not attending university or having degrees from foreign universities.
Wickremesinghe joined the United National Party (UNP) and progressed through its ranks. He was appointed as the chief organizer of the Kelaniya Parliamentary seat in the mid 1970s but was later appointed as the chief organizer of the Biyagama seat, which he won in the 1977 parliamentary elections.
Youngest cabinet minister
He was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in the new government of J. R. Jayawardene, and was soon promoted to the post of Minister of Youth Affairs and Employment, which made him the youngest cabinet minister of Sri Lanka. During his term as deputy minister, he created the Sri Lanka National Guard and the National Youth Services Council (NYSCO), which provides vocational and career training to school leavers. Wickramasinghe was later made the Minister of Education.
In 2001, Sri Lanka underwent severe losses in the warfront and the economy registered a -1% growth rate, the first ever negative growth in the country's history. By the end of the year, some members of the PA government led by S. B. Dissanayake, a senior Minister of the PA government, and Deputy Finance Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris left the PA to join the UNP thus destabilizing the Parliamentary composition which forced Kumaratunga to call for fresh elections. The United National Front (UNF), formed with the PA dissidents, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and the Ceylon Workers' Congress assumed power in the 2001 Parliamentary Elections held on December 10. Wickramasinghe's UNP won all but 6 of the 22 Electoral Districts in Sri Lanka. Thus Ranil Wickramasinghe took oaths as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka for the second time.
Three months after the elections, in an act that would define his premiership, Wickramasinghe signed a ceasefire agreement with the LTTE rebels and started peace talks with them, in hopes of ending the 20 year conflict in the island. This resulted in a visible development of the country. The civil war came to a halt; the North and South of the island was linked after decades and millions of people benefited as a result. During Wickramasinghe's term as Prime Minister, he also re-energized the economy to reach an economic growth rate of 6% and managed to keep the inflation down, at 2% - the country's lowest. His liberal economic policies stabilized the national economy. He also developed many international ties setup by him during his time in the Opposition. Sri Lanka underwent huge social changes during this period due to the ceasefire which made the country much accessible and open. The tigers however abruptly withdrew from the peace process in early 2003.
By November 2003 the LTTE showed willingness to reenter the peace talks by proposing an Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA). President Kumaratunga quickly shook off these proposals and assumed the Defense, Interior, and Media Ministries - which cut short the powers of the UNP regime. Soon President Kumaratunga's PA allied with radical socialist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna to form the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and Kumaratunga dissolved Parliament to call for new elections, through Ranil Wickramasinghe had the majority in Parliament and general elections not due for 3 years. President Kumaratunga would later concede that this was a mistake.
