Sri Lanka is a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Sri Lanka is both head of state and head of government, and it relies on a multi-party system. 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. For decades, the party system was dominated by the socialist Sri Lanka Freedom Party and the conservative United National Party. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP, 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.
Mahinda Rajapaksa is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the 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 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.
Sri Lankabhimanya Karu Jayasuriya is a Sri Lankan politician. He was the Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka. Previously he was Mayor of Colombo from 1997 to 1999, Minister of Power and Energy from 2001 to 2004, Minister of Public Administration and Home Affairs from 2007 to 2008, and Minister of Buddha Sasana, Public Administration, and Democratic Governance in 2015. He has served as Chairman of the Leadership Council of the United National Party (UNP), as well as Deputy Leader of the UNP. He is a member of parliament representing the Gampaha District since 2001. He had served as Sri Lanka's Ambassador to (Germany). As Speaker of Parliament, he also acts as Chairman of the Constitutional Council.
Don Alwin Rajapaksa was a Sri Lankan politician and Member of Parliament who represented the Beliatta electorate in Hambantota district from 1947 to 1965. A founding member of Sri Lanka Freedom Party and Cabinet Minister of Agriculture and Land in Wijeyananda Dahanayake's government, he was the father of two Sri Lankan Presidents; Mahinda Rajapaksa and Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.
Achchige Patali Champika Ranawaka is a Sri Lankan electrical engineer and Far-right politician. He is the Member of Parliament from Colombo District of Samagi Jana Balawegaya. He is currently the leader of a Civil Society named "43rd Brigade", after declaring to be an Independent Member of Parliament on 8 June 2022. He was the Cabinet Minister of Megapolis and Western Development, as well as Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Power and Energy and Technology, Research and Atomic Energy.
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 is currently a member of parliament from Polonnaruwa.
Dissanayaka Mudiyanselage Jayaratne, known as D. M. "Di Mu" Jayaratne, was a veteran Sri Lankan politician who was Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2010 to 2015. A founding member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, Jayaratne was first elected to parliament in 1970. He was sworn in as Prime Minister on 21 April 2010.
Venerable Athuraliye Rathana Thero, is a Sri Lankan [Sinhala Buddhist] Bhikkhu politician and a Member of Parliament. He is the only representative from Our Power of People's Party in the current parliament.
Basil Rajapaksa(kaputa, mr10 precent) is a Sri Lankan-American politician. He is a former Minister of Finance and Member of Parliament for the national list.
Eran Wickramaratne, MP is a Sri Lankan banker and politician. He is the former State Minister of Finance and member of Parliament of Sri Lanka. He was the Deputy Minister of Investment Promotions and Highways under 100 days program. He was the former CEO of NDB Bank since 2001 to 2010 and former Chairman of the Information Communication Technology Agency (ICTA).
Vidura Wickremanayake is a Sri Lankan politician. He is the current Minister of Buddhashasana, Religious, and Cultural Affairs and Member of Parliament. He is the son of the former Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake.
Ramesh Pathirana is a Sri Lankan politician, a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka and is serving as the current Minister of Health. He previously served as the Minister of Plantation Industries, Minister of Industries and Minister of Education.He belongs to the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna. He was educated at Richmond College, Galle and University of Peradeniya. He is a physician by profession and is the son of former Education and Higher Education minister Richard Pathirana.
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.
Wimalaweera Dissanayake (Sinhala: විමලවීර දිසානායක) is a Sri Lankan politician and current member of parliament for Digamadulla District. He was elected on 18 August 2015 from United People's Freedom Alliance. After the 2019 Presidential election, the newly elected president Gotabhaya Rajapaksa appointed him as state minister of wildlife on 27 November 20000, and he was once again appointed to the same post after the cabinet stepped down in the 2022 crisis. He served from 18 April 2022 until 9 May 2022 following another mass resignation of the Sri Lankan cabinet.
The Sri Lanka People's Front, commonly known by its Sinhalese name Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), is a political party in Sri Lanka. 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 became the home for members of the United People's Freedom Alliance loyal to its former leader Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Parliamentary elections were held in Sri Lanka on 5 August 2020 to elect 225 members to Sri Lanka's 16th Parliament. 16,263,885 people were eligible to vote in the election, 31.95% of whom were young voters.
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 alliance has 15 seats in the Parliament of Sri Lanka.
