The United National Party is a centre-right political party in Sri Lanka. The UNP has served as the country's ruling party, or as part of its governing coalition, for 38 of the country's 74 years of independence, including the periods 1947–1956, 1965–1970, 1977–1994, 2001–2004 and 2015–2019. The party also controlled the executive presidency from its formation in 1978 until 1994 and again from 2022 to 2024.
Mahinda Rajapaksa is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the sixth President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015; the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2005, 2018, and 2019 to 2022; the Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2004 and 2018 to 2019, and the Minister of Finance from 2005 to 2015 and 2019 to 2021. He has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for Kurunegala since 2015.
Basnayaka Ralalage Ranjith Siyambalapitiya is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as Minister of State for Finance, serving with Shehan Semasinghe since 8 September 2022 until the newly elected president Anura Kumara Dissanayake dissolved the parliament on September 24th, 2024. He was the Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees of the Parliament of Sri Lanka. He is a member of parliament for the Kegalle District. He had served as the former Cabinet Minister of Telecommunication and Information Technology.
Dullas Daham Kumara Alahapperuma is a Sri Lankan politician and founder and current leader of the Freedom People's Congress. Alahapperuma is also a former Cabinet Minister of Information and Mass Media and a current Member of Parliament from the Matara District.
Basil Rajapaksa is a Sri Lankan-American politician. He is a former Minister of Finance and Member of Parliament for the national list.
Ajith Nivard Cabraal is a Sri Lankan accountant and politician who was also the 16th Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. He is also the former State Minister of Finance, Capital Markets and State Enterprise Reforms and a former national list member of parliament from 2020 to 2021. He served as the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, holding the post from 1 July 2006 until his resignation on 9 January 2015. He again became the Governor of Central Bank of Sri Lanka in September 2021, replacing W. D. Lakshman, and resigned again in April 2022.
The prime minister of Sri Lanka, officially the prime minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the 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. The powers and functions of the Prime Minister has changed several times since the creation of the office in 1947.
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.
Vidura Wickremanayake is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the Minister of Buddhashasana, Religious, and Cultural Affairs from 2022 to 2024. A Member of Parliament, he is the son of the former Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake.
Kanaka Herath is a Sri Lankan politician, former cabinet minister, and a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka. He belongs to the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna. He was appointed as the Minister of Highways on 18 April 2022. He served until 9 May 2022 following another mass resignation of the Sri Lankan cabinet.
Mohan Priyadarshana De Silva is a Sri Lankan politician, Former Cabinet Minister, and member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka. He belongs to the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna. Mohan P. de Silva is a lawyer by profession and was educated at St. Aloysius' College, Galle. 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 Water Supplies by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on 18 April 2022, he served in this role until 9 May 2022 following another resignation of the Sri Lankan Cabinet.
Naseer Ahamed is a Sri Lankan politician serving as the Governor of the North Western Province, Sri Lanka. Naseer Ahamed has been active in Sri Lanka's political scene since 1994, having held various positions such as Cabinet Minister of Environment, Member of Parliament from the Batticaloa district, Chief Minister of the Eastern Province and more.
Kanchana Wijesekera is a Sri Lankan politician who is a member of parliament for Matara District. He is the son of former Cabinet Minister Mahinda Wijesekara.
The Sri Lanka People's Front, commonly known by its Sinhalese name Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), is a political party in Sri Lanka. It was the ruling party in Sri Lanka from 2019 to 2022 and was the largest party in parliament from 2020 to 2024. Previously a minor political party known as the Sri Lanka National Front (SLNF) and Our Sri Lanka Freedom Front (OSLFF), it was relaunched in 2016 as the SLPP and the party became the base for members of the United People's Freedom Alliance loyal to its former leader Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Rajapaksa family.
In Sri Lanka, a Non-cabinet minister is politician who is a Minister, but not a member of the Cabinet of Ministers. A non-cabinet minister is ranked below a cabinet minister, but above a deputy minister. A non-cabinet minister can be in charge of a ministry, be attached a ministry of a cabinet minister or be without a ministry. A cabinet minister may hold another non-cabinet minister post with a different subject concurrently.
Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon is a Sri Lankan politician, former Cabinet Minister, former provincial minister and Member of Parliament. He served as the Minister of Ports and Shipping in the Cabinet of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Mohamed Uvais Mohamed Ali Sabry, PC, MP, also known as Ali Sabry, is a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician. He was the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 22 July 2022 to 23 September 2024. He previously served as the Minister of Finance until 9 May 2022. He was a Member of Parliament, appointed from the national list of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna. He also served as the Minister of Justice until 9 May 2022. He served as the defense counsel of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, chief legal adviser and President of the Muslim Federation of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna.
The following lists notable events that took place during the year 2022 in Sri Lanka.
The 2022 Sri Lankan political crisis was a political crisis in Sri Lanka due to the power struggle between President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the people of Sri Lanka. It was fueled by the anti-government protests and demonstrations by the public due to the economic crisis in the country. The anti-government sentiment across various parts of Sri Lanka has triggered a state of political instability that is unprecedented in the nation's history.
The third Gotabaya Rajapaksa cabinet was the central government of Sri Lanka led by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. It was formed in April 2022 after the mass resignation of the previous cabinet and ended in May 2022 following the resignation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.
