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Mahinda Rajapaksa

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Mahinda Rajapaksa
File:Mahinda Rajapakse.jpg
President of Sri Lanka
Incumbent
Assumed office
19 November 2005
Prime MinisterRatnasiri Wickremanayake
Preceded byChandrika Kumaratunga
Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
In office
06 April 2004 – 19 November 2005
PresidentChandrika Kumaratunga
Preceded byRanil Wickremasinghe
Succeeded byRatnasiri Wickremanayake
Personal details
Born (1945-11-18) 18 November 1945 (age 78)
Madamulana, Hambantota, Sri Lanka
Political partyUPFA (SLFP)
SpouseShiranthi Rajapaksa (nee Wickremesinghe)
ChildrenNamal, Yoshitha and Rohitha
ProfessionAttorney, Politician

Percy Mahinda Rajapaksa (commonly known as Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sinhala මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, [ta] Error: {{Transliteration}}: unrecognized language / script code: mahinda rājapakṣa (help); IPA: [maˈhində ˈraːjəˌpakʂə]; born November 18, 1945) is the current President of Sri Lanka. A lawyer by profession, Rajapaksa previously served as the country's Prime Minister from April 6, 2004 until his swearing in as President for a six-year term on November 19, 2005. He is the current Chairman of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).




Presidency (November 2005 - Present)

After another tussle, Rajapaksa was chosen in front of Anura Bandaranaike, brother of Chandrika Kumaratunga, as the presidential candidate of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party for the Presidential Election held on November 17, 2005. Rajapaksa was up against Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe, the leader of the United National Party in this election. Rajapaksa defeated Wickremasinghe narrowly by 190,000 votes and took office as President on November 19, 2005. His victory was largely due to the mass support from the southern Sinhala-Buddhist voters due to support and endorsement from the JHU and JVP political parties, after having agreed not to divide the country into federal states as the LTTE demanded.[citation needed] Also, in the north-east, the LTTE called for a boycott of the polls from Tamil voters in areas under their control, and forcibly prevented a large section of voters from visiting the polling booths.[1] Rajapaksa received 50.3% of the vote.

After becoming President of Sri Lanka, Rajapaksa reshuffled the cabinet and took the portfolios of Defence and Finance in the new cabinet, which was sworn on November 23, 2005.

Rajapaksa assumed office of the President when the need of the hour was for a decisive economic growth. During the first three years of his tenure, Sri Lanka reawakened under his bold leadership.

During his first 3 years of office, Rajapaksa succeeded in handing down severe defeat to the LTTE terrorists handling the security forces as the Commander in Chief, successfully facing the challenge of routing terrorism. The President should be saluted for taking the initiative and for being the driving force behind the humanitarian operations, giving leadership for soldiers engaged in this task under difficult conditions. A notable feature is the massive development taking place in the country while humanitarian operations are continuing.

The rural community rather than the urban dwellers have identified the outstanding service discharged by the Rajapaksa. His direct foreign policy has registered an indelible mark in Sri Lanka's political history. It was under his leadership that highest number of foreign leaders visited the island. He has created an environment for all public employees to serve in liberty. Not only in Sri Lanka, but the attention of the world is focused on the services he had rendered on behalf of the entire nation during his term of office.

Allegations of corruption

Mahinda Rajapaksa has been accused of corruption by the opposition before his election as President, citing the "Helping Hambantota" case, where he was accused of appropriating close to USD 830,000 into a Treasury approved private fund, known as Helping Hambantota, to help the victims of the Boxing Day tsunami in Hambantota - his hometown and electoral district. Before the election, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka put a hold on the case. Later dismissing the case, Chief Justice Sarath Silva said the court case had been brought as soon as Rajapaksa was nominated as a presidential candidate. "The court sees this as an attempt to get political mileage for [UNP leader] Ranil Wickramasinghe and to discredit Mahinda Rajapaksa." It was told in parliament that the cabinet was aware of the existence of the Helping Hambantota fund. His office said he had held donations in Helping Hambantota fund to speed up the rate at which aid money was being handed out to victims of the 26 December, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The money in question had been put in a state account and Rajapaksa had not taken "even a cent" for his use, then Prime Minister's secretary Lalith Weeratunga told the AFP news agency at the time.[2]


Media Freedom

Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has charged that the Mahinda Rajapaksa's government has turned into a junta, "This junta has control over the economy, business activities and defense. They have unleashed corruption and terror on the country." He claimed that the attack on the Sunday Leader press facility, an independent English weekly could not have occurred without the knowledge of Sri Lankan Defense Ministry, since its located in a High Security Zone, neighboring military air force base, defense academy and a military camp .[3] [4]

Family

He is married to Shiranthi Wickremasinghe daughter of Commander E. P. Wickramasinghe and Mrs. Violet Wickramasinghe[5] and has three sons, Namal, Yoshitha and Rohitha.

References

  1. ^ "Hardliner wins Sri Lanka election". BBC News. November 2005 18, 2005. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "Lanka president wins tsunami case". BBC News. March 27 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ No one can attack on the Leader Publications press without the knowledge of the Defence Ministry." -Opposition Leader
  4. ^ Gota is behind this draconian gazette
  5. ^ First Lady of Sri Lanka

See also

Wikisource has original works by or about:
Mahinda Rajapaksa
Government offices

Template:Incumbent succession box

Preceded by Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
2004 – 2005 		Succeeded by
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