Sri Lanka is a semi-presidential representative democratic republic,whereby the President of Sri Lanka is both head of state and head of government,and it relies on a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet of Ministers. Legislative power is vested in the Parliament. For decades,the party system was dominated by the socialist Sri Lanka Freedom Party and the conservative United National Party. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
The president of Sri Lanka is the head of state and head of government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The president is the chief executive of the union government and the commander-in-chief of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces.
Dinesh Chandra Rupasinghe Gunawardena is a Sri Lankan politician serving as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka since 22 July 2022. He also holds the positions of Minister of Public Administration,Home Affairs,Provincial Councils and Local Government. Gunawardena has been leader of the left-wing Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) party since 1983,was briefly the de facto leader of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna from 2022 to 2023,and has taken cabinet positions under several previous governments,including Leader of the House from 2020 until 2022.
In Sri Lanka,the Leader of the Opposition is the leader of the largest political party in Parliament that is not in government. This is usually the leader of the second-largest party in Parliament. Sajith Premadasa officially took office as Leader of the Opposition on August 20,2020,after Speaker announces the appointment in parliament.
In Sri Lanka,the Cabinet of Ministers is the council of ministers that form the central government of Sri Lanka. The body of senior ministers responsible and answerable to the Parliament of Sri Lanka. The President is a member of the cabinet and its head.
Lakshman Bandara Kiriella,MP is a Sri Lankan politician and lawyer. He is a Member of Parliament from the Kandy District,former Leader of the House of the parliament. Also he held office as Minister of Public Enterprises and Kandy Development and as Minister of Higher Education and Highways from 2015 to 2019.
Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena is a Sri Lankan politician and landed proprietor. He is the current Speaker of the Sri Lankan Parliament.
Maithripala Yapa Sirisena is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the seventh President of Sri Lanka from 9 January 2015 to 18 November 2019. Sirisena is Sri Lanka's first president from the North Central Province of the country and does not belong to the traditional Sri Lankan political elite. He is currently a member of parliament from Polonnaruwa.
Thalatha Atukorale is a Sri Lankan politician and a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka. Atukorale was appointed as the cabinet minister of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare by President Maithripala Sirisena on 12 January 2015. She was given the additional duties of Minister of Justice on 25 August 2017. becoming the first woman to hold that position in Sri Lanka. She is the sister of Gamini Atukorale,former Minister and assistant leader of the United National Party.
Dissanayaka Mudiyanselage Jayaratne,known as D. M. "Di Mu" Jayaratne,was a Sri Lankan politician who was Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2010 to 2015. A founding member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party,Jayaratne was first elected to parliament in 1970. He was sworn in as Prime Minister on 21 April 2010.
Unnanthi Piyankara Jayaratne,MP is a Sri Lankan politician and a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.
Chamal Jayantha Rajapaksa is a Sri Lankan politician who was Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka from 2010 to 2015. Previously he served as Minister of Ports and Aviation and the Minister for Irrigation and Water Management. He hails from a well-known political family in Sri Lanka. His father,D. A. Rajapaksa,was a prominent politician,independence agitator,member of parliament and Minister of Agriculture and Land in Wijeyananda Dahanayake's government. He is the elder brother of Mahinda Rajapaksa,who was President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015 and Gotabaya Rajapaksa who was President from 2019 to 2022. Nine members of the Rajapaksa family have been members of parliament in Sri Lanka.
Basil Rajapaksa is a Sri Lankan-American politician. He is a former Minister of Finance and Member of Parliament for the national list.
Lakshman Pinto Jayatilaka Senewiratne is a Sri Lankan politician,former State Minister of Science,Technology and Research and a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka representing the Badulla District. and former Cabinet Minister of Sugar Industries,His father C. P. J. Senewiratne was an MP for Mahiyangana electorate and former Cabinet Minister of Labour in the government of J.R. Jayewardene.
Janaka Bandara Tennakoon is a Sri Lankan politician,a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka and a former Cabinet Minister. He was educated at Dharmaraja College,Kandy. He contested as the Group Leader of the Matale District of the Central Province and was elected to the Provincial Council with a majority of Proportional Votes in 1993;Elected as a Member of Parliament with a majority of proportional votes in the General Election of 1994;Elected as a Member of Parliament from the District of Matale with the majority of proportional votes in the general election of 2000. He also previously served as the Minister of Lands and Land Development and Minister of Public Services,Provincial Councils and Local Government.
Ronald Joseph Godfrey de Mel,known as Ronnie de Mel,was a Sri Lankan civil servant and politician. He served as the Minister of Finance under President J. R. Jayewardene's government from 1977 to 1988 and was instrumental in the establishment of the free market economy in Sri Lanka. He was also the longest serving finance minister of Sri Lanka. De Mel served as a Member of Parliament on multiple occasions,first from the Devinuwara District from 1970 to 1989,then from the Matara District from 1994 to 2000,and finally as a National list member of Parliament from 2000 to 2004. He also served as a Senior Adviser to President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Although he was a self-described socialist,de Mel has been credited with introducing capitalism and capitalist reforms to Sri Lanka's economy. He left a lasting mark on Sri Lanka's economy and political life,as recognized by national leaders at his funeral.
The Prime Minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the head and most senior member of parliament in the cabinet of ministers. It is the second-most powerful position in Sri Lanka's executive branch behind the president,who is the constitutional chief executive. The Cabinet is collectively held accountable to parliament for their policies and actions.
Janaka Wakkumbura is a Sri Lankan politician. He is a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka and Kalawana SLPP organiser. Following the mass resignation of the Sri Lankan cabinet in the wake of the 2022 Sri Lankan protests,he was appointed as the Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on 18 April 2022. He served until 9 May 2022 following another mass resignation of the Sri Lankan cabinet.
