Ranil Wickremesinghe

Ranil Wickremesinghe
රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ
ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்க
Wickremesinghe in 2023
9th President of Sri Lanka
In office
21 July 2022 – 23 September 2024
Acting: 14–21 July 2022
Prime MinisterDinesh Gunawardena
Preceded byGotabaya Rajapaksa
Succeeded byAnura Kumara Dissanayake
10th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
In office
12 May 2022 – 21 July 2022
President
  • Gotabaya Rajapaksa
  • Himself (acting)
Preceded byMahinda Rajapaksa
Succeeded byDinesh Gunawardena
In office
15 December 2018 – 21 November 2019
PresidentMaithripala Sirisena
Preceded byMahinda Rajapaksa
Succeeded byMahinda Rajapaksa
In office
9 January 2015 – 26 October 2018
PresidentMaithripala Sirisena
Preceded byD. M. Jayaratne
Succeeded byMahinda Rajapaksa
In office
9 December 2001 – 6 April 2004
PresidentChandrika Kumaratunga
Preceded byRatnasiri Wickremanayake
Succeeded byMahinda Rajapaksa
In office
7 May 1993 – 18 August 1994
PresidentDingiri Banda Wijetunga
Preceded byDingiri Banda Wijetunga
Succeeded byChandrika Kumaratunga
10th Leader of the Opposition
In office
22 April 2004 – 9 January 2015
Prime Minister
  • Mahinda Rajapaksa
  • Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
  • D. M. Jayaratne
Preceded byMahinda Rajapaksa
Succeeded byNimal Siripala de Silva
In office
28 October 1994 – 10 October 2001
Prime Minister
Preceded byGamini Dissanayake
Succeeded byRatnasiri Wickremanayake
Ministerial roles
2022–2024Minister of Defence
Minister of Technology
Minister of Finance
Ministry of Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment
2015–2019Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs
1989–1993Minister of Industry
Leader of the House
1980–1989Minister of Education
1977–1980Minister of Youth Affairs & Employment
1977Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
Member of Parliament
for National List
In office
23 June 2021 – 21 July 2022
Member of Parliament
for Colombo District
In office
16 August 1994 – 3 March 2020
Member of Parliament
for Gampaha District
In office
15 February 1989 – 16 August 1994
Personal details
Born (1949-03-24) 24 March 1949 (age 75)
Colombo, Dominion of Ceylon
NationalitySri Lankan
Political partyUnited National Party
Other political
affiliations		New Democratic Front (since 2024)
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1994)​
Parents
Relatives
Residence115 Fifth Lane
Alma materRoyal College, Colombo
University of Ceylon
Occupation

Ranil Wickremesinghe (Sinhala: රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ; Tamil: ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்க; born 24 March 1949) 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.

Born into a political family, Wickremesinghe graduated from the University of Ceylon and qualified as a lawyer from the Ceylon Law College in 1972. He entered politics in the mid-1970s with the UNP, first being elected to Parliament in 1977. Over the years, he held various ministerial positions, including Minister of Foreign Affairs, Youth Affairs and Employment, and Industry, Science and Technology. He first became prime minister in 1993 following the assassination of President Ranasinghe Premadasa.

Wickremesinghe ran unsuccessfully in 1999 and 2005 presidential elections. In 2015, he was appointed prime minister by President Maithripala Sirisena, leading a coalition government until 2019. During his tenure, he faced a constitutional crisis in 2018 but was reappointed as prime minister after it was resolved. He lost his parliamentary seat in 2020 but re-entered Parliament in 2021 as a National List MP.[1]

In May 2022, Wickremesinghe was reappointed as prime minister amidst a political crisis.[2][3][4] Following the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July 2022, Wickremesinghe became acting president[5][6] and was subsequently elected as the 9th President of Sri Lanka by Parliament on 20 July 2022. He took office the following day.[7][8][9] He attempted to run for a term in his own right in 2024 but failed to win reelection, finishing in third place with 17.27% of the vote.[10][11]

  1. ^ Farzan, Zulfick (23 June 2022). "Ranil Wickremesinghe re-enters Parliament as an MP". Newsfirst. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Ranil sworn in as PM". Daily Mirror. 12 May 2022. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  3. ^ Ellis Petersen, Hannah (12 May 2022). "Sri Lanka president brings back five-time former PM in effort to ease crisis". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  4. ^ Fernando, Shemal (22 May 2022). "Prime Ministers of Sri Lanka". Sunday Observer. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  5. ^ "Sri Lanka PM Wickremesinghe sworn in as acting president - govt official". Reuters. 15 July 2022. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  6. ^ "Ranil Wickremesinghe sworn in as Sri Lanka's interim president". The Telegraph. 15 July 2022. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  7. ^ Mao, Frances; Ethirajan, Anbarasan (20 July 2022). "Sri Lanka: Ranil Wickremesinghe elected president by MPs". BBC. Archived from the original on 27 August 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Sri Lankan parliament elects six-time PM Wickremesinghe as new president". France 24. 20 June 2024. Archived from the original on 14 May 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  9. ^ Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (20 July 2022). "Ranil Wickremesinghe: wily fox who is Sri Lanka's new president". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 July 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).