Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga,commonly referred to by her initials CBK,is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the fifth president of Sri Lanka from 12 November 1994 to 19 November 2005. She previously served as the prime minister from August to November 1994 and the chief minister of the Western Province from 1993 to 1994. She is the country's first and only female president to date and the country's second female prime minister. She was the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) from 1994 to 2005.
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.
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.
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.
The United National Front (UNF),later the United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG),was a political alliance in Sri Lanka led by the United National Party.
Dissanayake Mudiyanse Ralahamilage Lionel Gamini Dissanayake,PC was a prominent Sri Lankan politician,a powerful minister of the United National Party,and Leader of the Opposition. He was designated as the UNP candidate in the 1994 presidential election,but was then assassinated by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Mangala Pinsiri Samaraweera was the first openly gay politician from Sri Lanka. He was the Minister of Finance from 2017 to 2019,and the Minister of Foreign Affairs,for two terms from 2005 to 2007 and 2015 to 2017. He created a stir in Sri Lankan politics when he was sacked as a minister by President Mahinda Rajapakse in 2007,after which he formed a new political party called the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (Mahajana Wing_,which later merged with the United National Party in 2010.
In Sri Lanka,the Leader of the Opposition is the leader of the largest political party in Parliament that is not a part of the government. This is usually the leader of the second-largest party in Parliament.
Mallawa Arachchige Gamini Jayawickrama Perera was a Sri Lankan politician. He was a United National Party member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka for the Kurunegala District between 1994 and 2020,and had previously represented Katugampola in the National State Assembly from 1977 to 1989. Perera served many cabinet positions in various Sri Lankan governments,including being the Minister of Buddha Sasana,Minister of Wayamba Development,Minister of Sustainable Development and Wildlife,Minister of Food Security and the Minister of Irrigation and Water Management. Perera also briefly left national politics to become the Chief Minister of the North Western Province and serve in the North Western Provincial Council. Perera helped represent Sri Lanka's interests internationally as the chairman of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific,a position he was elected to in April 2016. Furthermore,he held the position of chairman of the United National Party during a significant period of his career.
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.
Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena is a Sri Lankan politician and land proprietor. He was the Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka from 2020 to 2024.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake,commonly referred to by his initials AKD,is a Sri Lankan politician who is the current president of Sri Lanka. Unlike most of Sri Lanka’s past presidents,Dissanayake was not born into a political background and does not belong to the traditional political parties of Sri Lanka.
Keheliya Rambukwella is a Sri Lankan politician,hotelier,film producer and former cabinet minister. He has served in multiple ministerial posts,including the former Minister of Mass Media and Information,Minister of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare,Minister of Water Supply and Drainage,Minister of Health and Minister of Environment.
Ratnapura 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 Ratnapura in the Sabaragamuwa province. The district currently elects 10 of the 225 members of the Sri Lankan Parliament and had 734,651 registered electors in 2010.
Gamini Atukorale was a former Transport,Highways and Civil Aviation Minister in Sri Lanka and former General Secretary and Deputy Leader of United National Party. Former member of parliament Thalatha Atukorale is the sister of Gamini Atukorale.
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.
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 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.
