Ranil Wickremesinghe is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the ninth president of Sri Lanka from 2022 to 2024. Previously,he served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 1993–1994,2001–2004,2015–2018,2018-2019 and in 2022. He held several ministerial roles,including Minister of Finance,Minister of Defence,Minister of Technology and Minister of Women,Child Affairs and Social Empowerment. Wickremesinghe has led the United National Party (UNP) since 1994 and has been Prime Minister of Sri Lanka on six occasions.
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.
The United People's Freedom Alliance was a political alliance in Sri Lanka founded by former Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga in 2004 and dissolved by former Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena in 2019.
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party is one of the main political parties of Sri Lanka. It was founded by S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike in 1951 and has been one of the two largest parties in the Sri Lankan political arena since. It first came to power in 1956 and has served as the predominant ruling party on a number of occasions.
Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa,is a former Sri Lankan politician and military officer,who served as the eighth president of Sri Lanka from 18 November 2019 until his resignation on 14 July 2022. He previously served as Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development from 2005 to 2015 under the administration of his elder brother former President Mahinda Rajapaksa,during the final phase of the Sri Lankan Civil War.
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 entered as a member of parliament from Polonnaruwa back in 2020 and ended his tenure in 2024.
Wijeyadasa Rajapakse,MP,PC is a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician. He was the Minister of Justice from 2022 to 2024 and from 2015 to 2017. He was the prime minister's nominee for the Constitutional Council of Sri Lanka.
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.
Lakshman Namal Rajapaksa is a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician. He is the eldest son of former President and former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and a member of parliament. He was the Minister of Youth and Sports from 2020 to 2022.
The Rajapaksa family is a Sri Lankan family that is prominent in politics. It was one of Sri Lanka's most powerful families during Mahinda Rajapaksa's presidency,when many members of the family occupied senior positions in the Sri Lankan state. They have been particularly prominent in Sri Lankan national politics since 2005 when Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected president.
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.
A constitutional crisis began in Sri Lanka when President Maithripala Sirisena appointed former president and member of parliament Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister on 26 October 2018 before formally dismissing the incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe,resulting in two concurrent prime ministers. Wickremesinghe and the United National Party (UNP) viewed the appointment as illegal,and he refused to resign.
The 2019 Sri Lankan presidential election was the 8th presidential election,held on 16 November 2019. Incumbent president Maithripala Sirisena did not run for a second term. Gotabaya Rajapaksa,brother of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa,was the candidate of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna and was endorsed by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. Sajith Premadasa,son of former president Ranasinghe Premadasa and deputy leader of the United National Party was the candidate of the ruling party.
The 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka was the meeting of the Parliament of Sri Lanka with its membership determined by the results of the 2020 parliamentary election held on 5 August 2020. The parliament met for the first time on 20 August 2020 and was dissolved on 24 September 2024.
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 protests,commonly known as Aragalaya,were a series of mass protests that began in March 2022 against the government of Sri Lanka. The government was heavily criticized for mismanaging the Sri Lankan economy,which led to a subsequent economic crisis involving severe inflation,daily blackouts,and a shortage of fuel,domestic gas,and other essential goods. The protesters' main demand was the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and key officials from the Rajapaksa family. Despite the involvement of several opposition parties,most protesters considered themselves to be apolitical,with many expressing discontent with the parliamentary opposition. Protesters chanted slogans such as "Go Home Gota","Go Home Rajapaksas",and "Aragalayata Jaya Wewa". Most protests were organized by the general public,with youths playing a major part by carrying out protests at Galle Face Green.
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 Uttara Lanka Sabhagaya or Supreme Lanka Coalition is a political alliance in Sri Lanka formed in 2022. The coalition is made up of seven Sri Lankan leftist and nationalist parties who were formerly part of the SLPP-led Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance,before defecting to the opposition amidst the 2022 economic crisis and political crisis. The first conference of the alliance was held on 4 September 2022. Leader of the National Freedom Front (NFF) and former cabinet minister Wimal Weerawansa is the chairman of the Supreme Lanka Coalition.
The Freedom People's Alliance was a political alliance in Sri Lanka founded in 2023. The alliance consisted of 12 political parties,including the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SFLP),the Uttara Lanka Sabhagaya and the Freedom People's Congress.
