D. E. W. Gunasekera | |
---|---|
ඩී. ඊ. ඩබ්. ගුණසේකර | |
Minister of Constitutional Reform | |
In office May 2004 –April 2010 | |
Preceded by | G. L. Peiris |
Minister of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms | |
In office April 2010 –November 2010 | |
Succeeded by | Chandrasiri Gajadeera |
Senior Minister of Human Resources | |
In office November 2010 –12 January 2015 | |
Member of Parliament for National List | |
In office 2004–2015 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Kivula,Ceylon | 4 March 1935
Political party | Communist Party of Sri Lanka |
Other political affiliations | United People's Freedom Alliance |
Alma mater | Vidyalankara University |
Occupation | Civil servant |
Don Edwin Weerasinghe Gunasekera (born 4 March 1935) is a Sri Lankan politician,former Member of Parliament and former cabinet minister. He is the current leader of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka (CPSL),a member of the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA). [1]
Gunasekera was born 4 March 1935 in Kivula in southern Ceylon. [2] [3] He was educated at Rahula College in Matara. [4] [5] After school he joined Vidyalankara University in the 1950s,graduating with a degree in economics. [3]
Gunasekera joined Ceylon Law College in the early 1970s but was expelled for attempting to cheat. [6]
After Vidyalankara Gunasekera worked at the Inland Revenue Department for many years. [3]
Gunasekera joined the Communist Party of Ceylon in 1958. [3] He wrote for the party's newspaper Mawbima and was a youth leader. [3] He later became a member of the party's central committee and eventually the party's general secretary. [3]
In 1988 the CPSL,Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP),Nava Sama Samaja Party and Sri Lanka People's Party formed the United Socialist Alliance (USA). [7] Gunasekera was one of the USA's candidates in Matara District at the 1989 parliamentary election but the USA failed to win any seats in the district. [8] [9] On 20 January 2004 the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) formed the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA). [10] The CPSL and LSSP joined the UPFA in February 2004. [11] [12] Gunasekera was appointed as a UPFA National List MP in the Sri Lankan Parliament following the 2004 parliamentary election. [13] Gunasekera was put forward as the UPFA's candidate for Speaker but was defeated by opposition candidate W. J. M. Lokubandara after three dramatic rounds of voting in Parliament. [14] [15] [16] Gunasekera was appointed Minister of Constitutional Reform in May 2004. [17] He was given the additional portfolio of National Integration on 28 January 2007. [18] [19]
Gunasekera was re-appointed as a UPFA National List MP following the 2010 parliamentary election. [20] [21] He was appointed Minister of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms after the election. [22] [23] He was promoted to Senior Minister of Human Resources in November 2010. [24] [25] He lost his cabinet position following the 2015 presidential election.
At the 2015 parliamentary election Gunasekera was placed on the UPFA's list of National List candidates. [26] [27] However,after the election he was not appointed to the National List. [28] [29]
Election | Constituency | Party | Votes | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1989 parliamentary [9] | Matara District | USA | 2,735 | Not elected |
Parliamentary elections were held in Sri Lanka on 2 April 2004. The ruling United National Party of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was defeated,winning only eighty two seats in the 225-member Sri Lankan parliament. The opposition United People's Freedom Alliance won 105 seats. While this was eight seats short of an absolute majority,the Alliance was able to form a government.
The Communist Party of Sri Lanka is a communist party in Sri Lanka. In the 2004 legislative election,the party was part of the United People's Freedom Alliance that won 45.6% of the popular vote and 105 out of 225 seats.
The National Unity Alliance is a political alliance in Sri Lanka. Founded in 1999,the alliance ceased to exist in 2010 when its remaining members joined the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. However,Azath Salley subsequently assumed leadership of the party and the party is presently active.
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.
Nambukara Helambage Rajitha Harischandra Senaratne is a Sri Lankan dentist,politician,member of parliament and former cabinet minister. He is currently a member of parliament representing Kalutara district
Achchige Don Susil Premajayantha is a Sri Lankan politician,Cabinet Minister and a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.
Upali Tissa Vitharana is a Sri Lankan politician,former Member of Parliament and former cabinet minister. He is the current leader of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP),a member of the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA),and is serving as Governor of North Central Province.
Weerasangilige Wimal Weerawansa is a Sri Lankan politician,Member of Parliament and current leader of the National Freedom Front (NFF). Weerawansa has served many cabinet positions,including Minister of Industries from 2020 to 2022,Minister of Small and Medium Business and Enterprise Development,Industries and Supply Chain Management from 2019 to 2020,Minister of Housing and Social Welfare in 2018 and the Minister of Construction and Housing from 2010 to 2015.
Colombo Electoral District is one of the 22 multi-member electoral districts of Sri Lanka created by the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. The district is conterminous with the administrative district of Colombo in the Western province. The district currently elects 19 of the 225 members of the Sri Lankan Parliament and had 1,709,209 registered electors in 2020.
Gampaha electoral district is one of the 22 multi-member electoral districts of Sri Lanka created by the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. The district is conterminous with the administrative district of Gampaha in the Western province. The district currently elects 18 of the 225 members of the Sri Lankan Parliament and had 1,785,964 registered electors in 2020.
Kalutara electoral district is one of the 22 multi-member electoral districts of Sri Lanka created by the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. The district is conterminous with the administrative district of Kalutara in the Western province. The district currently elects 10 of the 225 members of the Sri Lankan Parliament and had 813,233 registered electors in 2010.
The 14th Parliament of Sri Lanka was a meeting of the Parliament of Sri Lanka,with the membership determined by the results of the 2010 parliamentary election held on 8 and 20 April 2010. The parliament met for the first time on 22 April 2010 and was dissolved on 26 June 2015.
The All Ceylon Makkal Congress is a registered political party in Sri Lanka. It was founded in 2005 by Rishad Bathiudeen. Since 2020,the All Ceylon Makkal Congress has been a constituent party of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).
Reginald Cooray was a Sri Lankan teacher and politician. He was a provincial chief minister,a government minister,and governor of the Northern Province. He was briefly governor of the Central Province in April 2018,his tenure lasting less than 24 hours,making it the shortest of any governorship in Sri Lankan history.
The Ministry of Plantation Industries is a ministry in the Government of Sri Lanka.
Munasinghe Kariyawasam Appuhamilage Don Somadasa Gunawardana was a Sri Lankan politician and a former member of Parliament and government minister.
The first Sirisena cabinet was a central government of Sri Lanka led by President Maithripala Sirisena. It was formed in January 2015 after the presidential election and ended in August 2015 following the parliamentary election.
The 15th Parliament of Sri Lanka was the meeting of the Parliament of Sri Lanka with its membership determined by the results of the 2015 parliamentary election,held on 17 August 2015. The parliament met for the first time on 1 September 2015 and was dissolved on 3 March 2020.
Angajan Ramanathan is a Sri Lankan Tamil politician,former provincial councillor and Member of Parliament. He is the current Deputy chairman of committees of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.
Communism in Sri Lanka dates back to 1935,when the Lanka Sama Samaja Party was founded by Trotskyists who campaigned for freedom and independence of Sri Lanka which was then a colony of the British Empire and known as Ceylon.