Mahinda Rajapaksa

Hon.[1] Mahinda Rajapaksa
මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ
Rajapaksa in 2018
6th President of Sri Lanka
In office 19 November 2005 – 9 January 2015
Prime Minister	Ratnasiri Wickremanayake D. M. Jayaratne
Preceded by	Chandrika Kumaratunga
Succeeded by	Maithripala Sirisena
13th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
In office 21 November 2019 – 9 May 2022
President	Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Preceded by	Ranil Wickremesinghe
Succeeded by	Ranil Wickremesinghe
In office 26 October 2018 – 15 December 2018[a]
President	Maithripala Sirisena
Preceded by	Ranil Wickremesinghe
Succeeded by	Ranil Wickremesinghe
In office 6 April 2004 – 19 November 2005
President	Chandrika Kumaratunga
Preceded by	Ranil Wickremesinghe
Succeeded by	Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
12th Leader of the Opposition
In office 18 December 2018 – 21 November 2019
President	Maithripala Sirisena
Prime Minister	Ranil Wickremesinghe
Preceded by	R. Sampanthan
Succeeded by	Sajith Premadasa
In office 6 February 2002 – 2 April 2004
President	Chandrika Kumaratunga
Prime Minister	Ranil Wickremesinghe
Preceded by	Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
Succeeded by	Ranil Wickremesinghe
Cabinet posts Minister of Finance of Sri Lanka In office 22 November 2019 – 8 July 2021 President Gotabaya Rajapaksa Preceded by Mangala Samaraweera Succeeded by Basil Rajapaksa In office 23 November 2005 – 9 January 2015 President Himself Preceded by Sarath Amunugama Succeeded by Ravi Karunanayake Minister of Defence and Urban Development In office 19 November 2005 – 8 January 2015 President Himself Preceded by Tilak Marapana Succeeded by Maithripala Sirisena Minister of Highways, Ports & Shipping In office 23 April 2010 – 8 January 2015 President Himself Preceded by Mangala Samaraweera Succeeded by Kabir Hashim In office 22 April 2004 – 19 November 2005 President Chandrika Kumaratunga Preceded by Jeyaraj Fernandopulle Succeeded by Mangala Samaraweera Minister of Law and Order In office 26 August 2013 – 8 January 2015 President Himself Preceded by Office established Succeeded by John Amaratunga Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development In office 1997 – 14 September 2001 President Chandrika Kumaratunga Preceded by Indika Gunawardena Succeeded by Mahinda Wijesekara Minister of Labour and Vocational Training In office 19 August 1994 – 1997 President D. B. Wijetunga Chandrika Kumaratunga Preceded by D. B. Wijetunga Succeeded by Alavi Moulana
Constituencies Member of Parliament for Kurunegala In office 17 August 2015 – 24 September 2024 Member of Parliament for Hambantota In office 15 February 1989 – 19 November 2005 Preceded by Constituency established Succeeded by Nirupama Rajapaksa Member of Parliament for Beliatta In office 27 May 1970 – 21 July 1977 Preceded by D.P. Atapattu Succeeded by Ranjit Atapattu
Personal details
Born	Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa (1945-11-18) 18 November 1945 (age 79) Weeraketiya, Southern Province, British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka)
Political party	Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (after 2018)
Other political affiliations	Sri Lanka Freedom Party (before 2018)
Spouse(s)	Shiranthi Rajapaksa (née Wickremesinghe)
Children	Namal Yoshitha Rohitha
Relatives	Chamal (brother) Gotabaya (brother) Basil (brother)
Residence(s)	Carlton House, Tangalle Medamulana Walawwa
Alma mater	Sri Lanka Law College
Profession	Attorney
Website	Official website

Mahinda Rajapaksa (Sinhala: මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ; Tamil: மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the sixth President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015; the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2005, 2018, and 2019 to 2022;^[2] 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.^[3]

Rajapaksa is a lawyer by profession and was first elected to the Parliament of Sri Lanka in 1970. He served as the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party from 2005 to 2015. Rajapaksa was sworn in for his first six-year term as president on 19 November 2005. He was subsequently re-elected in 2010 for a second term.^[4] Rajapaksa was defeated in his bid for a third term in the 2015 presidential election by Maithripala Sirisena, and he left office on 9 January 2015. Later that year, Rajapaksa unsuccessfully sought to become prime minister in the 2015 parliamentary election; that year, the United People's Freedom Alliance was defeated but was elected as the Member of Parliament for the Kurunegala District.^[5]

On 26 October 2018, Rajapaksa was appointed to the office of prime minister by President Maithripala Sirisena after the United People's Freedom Alliance withdrew from the unity government. The incumbent, Ranil Wickremesinghe, refused to accept his dismissal, stating that it was unconstitutional. This disagreement resulted in a constitutional crisis. The Sri Lankan Parliament passed two no-confidence motions brought against Rajapaksa on 14 and 16 November 2018. Failing to follow proper procedures, President Sirisena rejected both. On 3 December 2018, a court suspended Rajapaksa's powers as prime minister, ruling that his cabinet could not function until establishing its legitimacy. Rajapaksa resigned from the post of prime minister on 15 December 2018. Wickremesinghe was re-appointed as prime minister, and Rajapaksa was appointed Leader of the Opposition.^[6]

Rajapaksa became the leader of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna in 2019, splitting the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. He became prime minister again on 21 November 2019 after being appointed by his brother, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who had become president on 18 November after winning the 2019 Sri Lankan presidential election. On 9 August 2020, Rajapaksa was sworn in as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka for the fourth time at a Buddhist temple on Colombo's outskirts. On 3 May 2022, a motion of no confidence aimed at Rajapaksa and his cabinet was declared by opposition leaders.^[7] He was targeted during the 2022 Sri Lankan protests over the corruption and mismanagement by the Rajapaksa family which led to an economic crisis that brought Sri Lanka to the point of bankruptcy as it defaulted on its loans for the first time in its history since independence. Protesters called him "Myna" and demanded his resignation which he resisted. On 9 May 2022, Mahinda Rajapaksa organised his supporters at his official residence who were brought by buses and led by SLPP MPs. The loyalists then attacked protestors at Temple Trees before assaulting protestors at Galle Face as attacks were carried out simultaneously against protests in other areas; however this intensified protests and retaliatory violence against Rajapaksa loyalists erupted islandwide and Mahinda Rajapaksa submitted his letter of resignation the same day.^[2][8]

During Rajapaksa's political career, he has been accused of multiple crimes including war crimes during the last years of the Sri Lankan civil war as well as other criminal accusations including human rights violations during his presidency, corruption and for instigating violence on anti-government protestors on 9 May 2022.^{[9][10][11][12]} As of 2023 he has been sanctioned by Canada for human rights violations.^[13]

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