Sajith Premadasa (Sinhala: සජිත් ප්රේමදාස, Tamil: சஜித் பிரேமதாச; born 12 January 1967) is a Sri Lankan politician. He is the current leader of the Opposition of Sri Lanka and Member of Parliament for Colombo District.[1] He is the current leader of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya.[2]
Premadasa is the son of Ranasinghe Premadasa, who was the president of Sri Lanka from 1989 to 1993. He was educated at S. Thomas' Preparatory School, Royal College, Colombo and Mill Hill School before entering London School of Economics. He was doing his postgraduate studies at the University of Maryland when his father was assassinated in 1993. He returned to Sri Lanka and entered politics, representing the Hambantota District, having joined the United National Party. He was elected to parliament in 2000 and was appointed Deputy Minister of Health in 2001, serving until 2004. He was appointed deputy leader of the United National Party in 2011 and was appointed Minister of Housing and Samurdhi in President Maithripala Sirisena's cabinet in 2015. He contested the 2019 presidential election as the candidate of United National Front, placing second. In December 2019, he was appointed as the leader of the opposition and a member of the Constitutional Council of Sri Lanka.[3] On 30 January 2020, he was selected as the leader and prime ministerial candidate of a new UNP-led alliance.[4]