Harini Amarasuriya

Last updated

Hon.
Harini Amarasuriya
MP
හරිනි අමරසූරිය
ஹரிணி அமரசூரிய
External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar called on Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, H.E. Dr. Harini Amarasuriya in Colombo (cropped).jpg
Amarasuriya in 2024
16th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
Incumbent
Assumed office
24 September 2024
Occupation Academic, Politician
Profession Sociologist
Website www.npp.lk/en/about

Harini Nireka Amarasuriya [j] (born 6 March 1970) is a Sri Lankan sociologist, academic, activist, and politician serving as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka since 2024.

Contents

Having spent a decade as an academic at the Open University of Sri Lanka, where she was engaged with the Federation of University Teachers' Association in trade union action; Amarasuriya was nominated by the National People's Power (NPP) party as its National List Member of Parliament in 2020.

She was appointed as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka in September 2024, concurrently appointed as the interim minister of justice, health, women, education, trade, and industries in the first Dissanayake cabinet. She is the third woman to hold the office of prime minister of Sri Lanka, after Sirimavo Bandaranaike and her daughter Chandrika Kumaratunga. Amarasuriya was reappointed as Prime Minister following the NPP's landslide victory in the 2024 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, in which she received 655,289 votes—the second-highest ever obtained by a candidate in Sri Lanka's parliamentary electoral history.

Early life and education

Born in Galle on 6 March 1970, her father was a planter and her mother a housewife, Amarasuriya was the youngest of three. She is a relative of H. W. Amarasuriya, Cabinet Minister for Trade and Commerce from 1948 to 1952. The family moved to Colombo after her father's estate was taken over by the government under the Land Reform Act of 1972, where she attended Bishop's College, with a year in the United States as an exchange student. [1]

Amarasuriya gained an Indian government scholarship to read Sociology at the Hindu College, from 1991 to 1994, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts honours degree in sociology from the University of Delhi. Her contemporaries at Hindu College included Imtiaz Ali and Arnab Goswami. [2] Following her return from India, she worked as a community health worker with Nest Sri Lanka, working with tsunami-affected children. Five years later she gained a Master of Arts in Applied and Development Anthropology from Macquarie University, followed by a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Edinburgh. [1]

Academic and activist

She joined the Open University of Sri Lanka as a senior lecturer in the Department of Social Sciences in 2011 after completing her PhD, where she later became the head of the department. Amarasuriya has undertaken research into Human Rights and Ethics in Sri Lanka funded by the European Research Council and the influence of radical Christians on dissent in Sri Lanka funded by the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, The University of Edinburgh. [3]

Trade union action

Becoming a member of the Federation of University Teachers' Association (FUTA), she took part in trade union action demanding better working conditions and fair treatment for university staff. [4] [5]

6% of GDP for education

Amarasuriya has been an advocate for educational reforms to truly enable free education as envisioned by C. W. W. Kannangara when free education was introduced in Sri Lanka in 1938. She has called for the equal access to quality education independent of the economic power of the people thus ensuring equal education opportunities for everyone, by which to stop the concept of popular schools in Sri Lanka. On this note, Amarasuriya campaigned with the FUTA in 2011 and 2012 for government allocation of 6% of the GDP for education. [6] [7] In 2023, Sri Lanka had only allocated 2% of its GDP for education. [8]

Political career

Member of Parliament

Amarasuriya joined the National Intellectuals Organization in 2019 and campaigned for the NPP Candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake during the 2019 Sri Lankan presidential election. On 12 August 2020, she was nominated and appointed by the NPP as the national list candidate to enter the 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka following the 2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election. [9] [10] [11]

Confusion and concerns were raised about whether she could continue her service as an academic senior lecturer at the Open University after being nominated as a national list candidate. [12] However, in an interview with EconomyNext, she officially revealed that she had resigned from the position of senior lecturer of the Open University in order to pursue her political career and parliamentary politics as an MP.[ citation needed ]

She focused on reconciliation and social inclusion to help bridge ethnic, religious and political divides in Sri Lanka, as well as promoting national unity and stability. Additionally, she advocated for gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights, was involved in the Parliamentary Caucus for Animal Welfare, and served on the Board of Directors for the non-governmental organization Nest. [13] [14] [15] [16] [ excessive citations ]

Premiership (2024–present)

“Well, we don’t have experience in making the country bankrupt for sure, but we will get experience in building the country,”

Harini Amarasuriya, [17]

On 24 September 2024, Amarasuriya was sworn in as the Sixteenth Prime Minister of Sri Lanka by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. [18] She is the first prime minister of her party, and the third woman to hold the role after Sirimavo Bandaranaike and Chandrika Kumaratunga. [19]

Since the NPP had only two members left in parliament following Dissanayake's accent to the Presidency, his first cabinet consisted of only three members, including himself and Amarasuriya. Amarasuriya was given the portfolios of Justice, Public Administration, Provincial Councils, Local Government and Labour, Education, Science and Technology, Trade, Commercial, Food Security, Co-operative Development, Industries and Entrepreneur Development, Women, Child and Youth Affairs and Sports and Health in the caretaker government until a new parliament is elected in the parliamentary election on 14 November 2024. [20] [21]

Educational reforms

Following her appointment as Minister of Education, Amarasuriya initiated educational reforms with the halting of the longstanding practice of inviting politicians to school functions by school administrators, with the aim of removing the political influence from schools. [22]

2024 parliamentary election

Amarasuriya who is the Deputy Secretary of the NPP [23] lead the NPP nominations from Colombo District for the 2024 Sri Lankan parliamentary election. [24]

Amarasuriya set a new record by securing the highest preferential votes from Colombo District with 655,289 votes. She surpassed the preferential vote count of Mahinda Rajapaksa, who contested from Kurunegala District in 2020 and gained 527,364 votes, but in the same election Vijitha Herath set a new record with 716,715 votes in Gampaha District.

Following the parliamentary election, Amarasuriya was re-appointed as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. She was also appointed as the Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education. [25] [26]

Electoral history

Electoral history of Harini Amarasuriya
ElectionConstituencyPartyVotesResultRef
2024 parliamentary Colombo District National People's Power 655,289Elected [27]

Personal life

Amarasuriya is unmarried, and has no children. [28]

Honours

In October 2024, the Postal Department issued a personalized stamp of Prime Minister Amarasuriya. The incident caused some controversy. [29]

Notes

  1. ↑ Minister of Education, Science and Technology
  2. ↑ as Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education
  3. ↑ as Minister of Science and Technology
  4. ↑ as Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development
  5. ↑ as Minister of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development
  6. ↑ as Minister of Women and Child Affairs
  7. ↑ as Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs
  8. ↑ as Minister of Justice and National Integration
  9. ↑ as Minister of Minister of State Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government
  10. ↑ Sinhala: හරිනි අමරසූරිය, romanized: Harini Amarasūriya
    Tamil: ஹரிணி அமரசூரிய, romanized: Hariṇi Amaracūriya.

Related Research Articles

Sri Lanka is a unitary multi-party semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Sri Lanka is both head of state and head of government. 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. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ranil Wickremesinghe</span> President of Sri Lanka from 2022 to 2024

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United National Party</span> Political party in Sri Lanka

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna</span> Political party in Sri Lanka

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna is a leftist political party in Sri Lanka. The party was formerly a revolutionary movement and was involved in two armed uprisings against the government of Sri Lanka: once in 1971 (SLFP), and another in 1987–1989 (UNP). The motive for both uprisings was to establish a socialist state. Since then the JVP has entered mainstream democratic politics and has updated its ideology, abandoning some of its original Marxist policies such as the abolition of private property, and moderating its rhetoric. The JVP has been led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake since 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dinesh Gunawardena</span> Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2022 to 2024

Dinesh Chandra Rupasinghe Gunawardena is a Sri Lankan politician who served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2022 to 2024. He also held 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sajith Premadasa</span> Sri Lankan politician (born 1967)

Sajith Premadasa is a Sri Lankan politician. He is the current Leader of the Opposition of Sri Lanka and a Member of Parliament for the Colombo District. He is the current leader of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anura Kumara Dissanayake</span> President of Sri Lanka since 2024

Anura Kumara Dissanayake, commonly referred to by his initials AKD, is a Sri Lankan politician who has been the tenth and current president of Sri Lanka since 2024. Dissanayake is the first Sri Lankan president to be elected in a second round of vote counting, and the first elected president not from Sri Lanka's traditional political parties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S. B. Dissanayake</span> Sri Lankan politician

Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Sumanaweera Banda Dissanayake, MP is a Sri Lankan politician. He is the former Cabinet Minister of Higher Education in President Mahinda Rajapakse's Government. He was the former general secretary of Sri Lanka Freedom Party and former national organiser of the United National Party. Dissanayake lost his cabinet position after Rajapaksha was defeated at the 2015 presidential election in Sri Lanka.

Dissanayake Mudiyanse Anuradha Lanka Pradeep Jayaratne is a Sri Lankan politician who is serving as the Parliamentary Leader of the New Democratic Front. He is a Member of Parliament from the Kandy District. He was the former State Minister of Rural irrigation and tanks development, former member of the Central Provincial Council and is the son of the former Sri Lankan Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne.

The Constitutional Council (CC) is a 10-member constitutional authority in Sri Lanka tasked with maintaining independent commissions and monitoring its affairs. The Constitutional Council is aimed at depoliticizing the public service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna</span> Political party in Sri Lanka

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.

The National People's Power (NPP) or Jathika Jana Balawegaya (JJB) is a centre-left to left-wing political party in Sri Lanka. It was formed as a coalition of left-wing and progressive parties that aimed to present an alternative to the existing political establishment. The NPP emerged as a response to the perceived failures of traditional parties in the Sri Lankan political system. It is the current ruling party of Sri Lanka, having won the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections, and is currently the largest party in the Parliament of Sri Lanka. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is the current leader of the party and Nihal Abeysinghe is the general secretary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">16th Parliament of Sri Lanka</span> 2020–2024 meeting of the Sri Lankan legislature

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.

Wijekoon Mudiyanselage Manjula Wijekoon Dissanayake is a Sri Lankan politician, former provincial councillor and Member of Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Sri Lankan presidential election</span>

An indirect presidential election was held in Sri Lanka on 20 July 2022 following the resignation of president Gotabaya Rajapaksa on 14 July. The president of Sri Lanka was elected by the Parliament in a secret ballot to decide who would complete the remainder of Gotabaya Rajapaksa's term. Candidates were nominated in the Parliament on 19 July in advance of the election the following day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Sri Lankan presidential election</span> 9th Sri Lankan presidential election

The 2024 Sri Lankan presidential election was the ninth presidential election in the country’s history and was held on 21 September 2024. Incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe ran for re-election as an independent candidate, making him the first sitting president to run for re-election since Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2015. Other prominent candidates included Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa, Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the NPP, and Namal Rajapaksa, son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The first Dissanayake cabinet was a central government of Sri Lanka led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. It was a 3-member interim cabinet formed in September 2024 after the presidential election and ended in November 2024 following the parliamentary election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">17th Parliament of Sri Lanka</span> Current meeting of the Sri Lankan legislature

The 17th Parliament of Sri Lanka is the current Parliament of Sri Lanka, with its membership determined by the results of the 2024 parliamentary election held on 14 November 2024. The parliament met for the first time on 21 November 2024.

Parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka no later than 21 February 2030. They will determine the composition of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, which determines the government.

References

  1. 1 2 Wickramasinghe (February 2022). "Harini Amarasuriya". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
  2. ↑ (24 September 2024). "Delhi roots, Colomobo heights: New Sri Lankan PM Harini Amarasuriya's fascinating link to India" Archived 2024-09-28 at the Wayback Machine . The Times of India . Retrieved on 24 September 2024.
  3. ↑ "Dr Harini Amarasuriya | IASH". www.iash.ed.ac.uk. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  4. ↑ Basuriya, Kasun (24 September 2024). "Former academic named Sri Lanka's third female Prime Minister". LMD . Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  5. ↑ "Cyber bullying prevents women from public positions - Harini Amarasuriya". Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka) . Archived from the original on 28 September 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  6. ↑ Siriwardana, Ajith (4 November 2023). "Free education only nominal today: Dr. Harini". DailyMirror. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  7. ↑ Amarasuriya, Harini (4 December 2015). "Education: The Elusive & Much Maligned 6%". Colombo Telegraph. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  8. ↑ "SL among the lowest in South Asia for spending on education: UNICEF". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  9. ↑ "Rights activist and academic Dr Harini Amarasuriya is the NPP National List nominee". EconomyNext. 12 August 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  10. ↑ "Dr. Harini Amarasuriya named as JJB National List MP". Sri Lanka News - Newsfirst. 12 August 2020. Archived from the original on 28 September 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  11. ↑ tharindu. "හරිනි අමරසූරිය මාලිමාවේ ජාතික ලැයිස්තු මන්ත්‍රී ධුරයට". sinhala.srilankamirror.com. Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  12. ↑ "NPP National List slot: Dr. Harini Amarasuriya's name proposed". www.themorning.lk. 12 August 2020. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  13. ↑ "Positive effects of Harini Amarasuriya's appointment as Prime Minister". Daily News (Sri Lanka) . 25 September 2024. Archived from the original on 28 September 2024. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  14. ↑ "NPP will back bill to decriminalize same-sex relationships - Harini Amarasuriya". Ada Derana . 25 June 2024. Archived from the original on 24 September 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  15. ↑ "Parliamentary Caucus for Animal Welfare". Parliament of Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 5 March 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  16. ↑ "Interview – Harini Amarasuriya". E-International Relations. 25 June 2020. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  17. ↑ "Sri Lanka's new PM Harini Amarasuriya's thorny path from social health worker". 25 September 2024.
  18. ↑ Jayasinghe, Uditha (24 September 2024). "Sri Lanka President Dissanayake picks Amarasuriya as PM, takes finance job". Reuters . Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  19. ↑ "Former academic named Sri Lanka's third female prime minister". BBC. Archived from the original on 25 September 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  20. ↑ "Sri Lanka's new president calls parliamentary election to consolidate his mandate". Associated Press. 24 September 2024. Archived from the original on 25 September 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  21. ↑ "The New Cabinet of Sri Lanka". manthri.lk. Archived from the original on 28 September 2024. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  22. ↑ De Alwis, Dinesh. "istoric government shift holds promise of education reform". Universityworldnews.com. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  23. ↑ "Information of Recognized Political Parties - NPP" (PDF). Election Commission of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
  24. ↑ "Prime Minister Harini to contest from Colombo". NewsWire. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  25. ↑ "Dr. Harini Amarasuriya re-appointed Prime Minister". Ada Derana . 18 November 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  26. ↑ "Sri Lanka leader reappoints Amarasuriya as PM, retains finance and defence". Al Jazeera . 18 November 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  27. ↑ "List of candidates and preferential votes in Sri Lanka 2024 election". EconomyNext. 15 November 2024. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  28. ↑ Aneez, Shirar (25 September 2024). "Factbox – Sri Lanka's new PM Harini Amarasuriya's thorny path from social health worker". EconomyNext. Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  29. ↑ Balasuriya. "Only personalised stamps issued featuring Harini, Vijitha: Postal Department clarifies". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
2024 September–2024 November		Succeeded by
Herself
Preceded by
Herself
 Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
2024 November–present		Incumbent
Order of precedence
Preceded byas President Order of precedence of Sri Lanka
Prime Minister
2024–present		Succeeded byas Speaker of Parliament
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.