First time in Sri Lankan history a President has taken oaths at the Parliamentary complex:
Leader of the UNP since 1994:
The 73-year-old veteran politician has held the office of Prime Minister six times:
Started political career as Chief Organiser of the UNP in Kelaniya:
The Parliament on Wednesday (July 20) elected Ranil Wickremesinghe as the 8th Executive President of Sri Lanka by a majority of 52 votes.
In a secret ballot that got underway in the House on Wednesday, the Members of Parliament (MPs) voted to elect a succeeding President to fill in the post left vacant by the resignation of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on July 14 after protesters broke into several key buildings in Colombo.
Wickremesinghe was elected to the office of President with a total of 134 votes whereas his two rival candidates Dullas Alahapperuma received 82 votes and Anura Kumara Dissanayaka received just three votes. Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, who was to contest, withdrew his candidature to support Alahapperuma.
Wickremesinghe, a six-time former Prime Minister who became Acting President after his predecessor resigned, had the backing of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), the largest bloc in the 225-member Parliament.
First time
Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the 8th Executive President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka on Thursday (July 21) morning before Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya in the Parliamentary Complex. This is the first time in Sri Lankan history that a President has taken oaths at the Parliamentary complex. Moreover, it came on the 45th anniversary of the 1977 General Election (July 21, 1977) from which Wickremesinghe entered Parliament.
Wickremesinghe embarked on active politics in the mid-1970s representing the United National Party (UNP) and entered the Parliament in 1977. He has been the Leader of the UNP since 1994. The 73-year-old veteran politician has held the office of Prime Minister six times although he has never completed a full term. Born on March 24, 1949, Wickremesinghe also held the position of Prime Minister of the previous Yahapalana Government.
Breakaway faction
Wickremesinghe was elected to the 9th Parliament on June 23, 2021 as a National List Member representing the United National Party, whose breakaway faction Samagi Jana Balavegaya headed by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa scored major gains at the expense of the UNP.
An alumnus of the Royal College of Colombo, Wickremesinghe was later selected to the Faculty of Law of the University of Colombo and sworn in as a lawyer. He started his political career as the Chief Organiser of the United National Party in Kelaniya Constituency in the mid of 1970 and was later appointed as the Chief Organiser of the Biyagama Constituency.
In 1977, he was elected as a Member of Parliament for the first time and was the youngest Cabinet Minister in the J.R. Jayewardene Government where he held the position of Minister of Youth Affairs and Employment. He was the Minister of Foreign Affairs at the age of 28, and later served as the Cabinet Minister for Youth Affairs, Education and Industry, Science and Technology.
Wickremesinghe, who also served as the Leader of the House between March 6, 1989 and May 7, 1993, also served as the Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 2001 and from 2004 to 2015.
He was first elected as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka on May 7, 1993 and held that position until August 19, 1994. Wickremesinghe was the Prime Minister for the second time from December 9, 2001 to April 2, 2004, for the third time from January 9, 2015 to August 21, 2015, for the fourth time from August 24, 2015 to October 26, 2018, and for the fifth time from December 16, 2018 to November 21, 2019.
Resignation
After the resignation of the former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on May 9, Wickremesinghe returned to the post of Prime Minister on May 12 in the capacity of Prime Minister. Following the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa from the office of President, he became the Acting President from July 14 as per the provisions of the Constitution.
Over his various terms in office, both as Prime Minister and Opposition Leader, Wickremesinghe became known for being economically capable and a pro-Western reformer, particularly for his role steering the country out of a recession in 2001. Since his entry to active politics, he was described as a “clean” politician, as he was untouched by corruption allegations.
He will be the President for the remainder of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s term which ends in 2024.