Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...
Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa ( si, නන්දසේන ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ; ta, நந்தசேன கோட்டாபய ராஜபக்ஷ; born 20 June 1949) is a former Sri Lankan military officer and politician, who served as the eighth
President of Sri Lanka
The President of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්රී ලංකා ජනාධිපති ''Śrī Laṃkā Janādhipathi''; ta, இலங்கை சனாதிபதி ''Ilankai janātipati'') is the head of state and head of government of t ...
from 18 November 2019 until his resignation on 14 July 2022. He previously served as
Secretary
A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...
to the
Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...
and
Urban Development
Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to:
* Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas
* Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities
Urban may also refer to:
General
* Urban (name), a list of peop ...
from 2005 to 2015 under the administration of his elder brother former President
Mahinda Rajapaksa
Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...
, during the final phase of the
Sri Lankan Civil War.
Born to a
political family
A political family (also referred to as political dynasty) is a family in which multiple members are involved in politics — particularly electoral politics. Members may be related by blood or marriage; often several generations or multiple si ...
from the
Southern Province, Rajapaksa was educated at
Ananda College, Colombo and joined the
Ceylon Army
ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம்
, image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png
, image_size = 180px
, caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army
, start_date ...
in April 1971. Following basic training at the
Army Training Centre, Diyatalawa, he was commissioned as
signals officer and later transferred to several
infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...
regiments. He saw active service in the early stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War with the elite
Gajaba Regiment
The Gajaba Regiment (GR) is an elite infantry regiment of the Sri Lankan Army. Formed on 14 October 1983 at the Saliyapura Camp in Anuradhapura, it is named after the famous Sinhalese warrior King Gajabahu the First. It consists of 14 regula ...
, taking part in several major offensives such as the
Vadamarachi Operation, Operation Strike Hard and
Operation Thrividha Balaya
Operation Thrividha Balaya was a combined military operation, the first of its kind, launched by the Sri Lankan Military in Jaffna. The Operation was carried out to break the siege of the Sri Lanka Army garrison of the old Dutch Jaffna For ...
, as well as
counter-insurgency operations during the
1987–1989 JVP insurrection.
Rajapaksa took early retirement from the army and moved into the field of information technology, before immigrating to the United States in 1998. He returned to Sri Lanka in 2005, to assist his brother in his presidential campaign and was appointed Defence Secretary in his brother's administration. During his tenure the Sri Lankan Armed Forces successfully concluded the Sri Lankan Civil War defeating the
Tamil Tigers and killing its leader,
Velupillai Prabhakaran
Velupillai Prabhakaran (; ta, வேலுப்பிள்ளை பிரபாகரன்; , (26 November 1954 – 18 May 2009) was a Sri Lankan Tamil guerrilla and the founder and leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ...
in 2009. He was a target of an assassination attempt in December 2006 by a Tamil Tiger
suicide bomber
A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...
. Following the war, Rajapaksa initiated many urban development projects. He stepped down following the defeat of his brother in the
2015 presidential election.
Rajapaksa emerged as the
SLPP candidate for the
2019 presidential election, which he successfully contested on a pro-nationalistic, economic development and national security platform. He was the first president of Sri Lanka with military background and also the first elected president who had never held an elected office before. During his presidency, he increased his presidential powers through the
20th Amendment and nepotism rose as members of the Rajapaksa family were appointed to several positions of power, and led the country during the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. Economic mismanagement drove the country to bankruptcy, causing Sri Lanka to declare
default for the first time since gaining independence in 1948. This
economic crisis
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the p ...
caused shortages and inflation, leading to the
2022 Sri Lankan protests
The 2022 Sri Lankan protests ( si, අරගලය, translit=Aragalaya, lit=Struggle), are mass protests that began in March 2022 against the government of Sri Lanka. The government has been criticized for mismanaging the Sri Lankan economy, ...
and
political crisis
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
; the Rajapaksa administration responded by declaring a
state of emergency
A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...
, which allowed the military to arrest civilians, imposing
curfew
A curfew is a government order specifying a time during which certain regulations apply. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to ''not'' be in public places or on roads within a certain time frame, typically in the evening and ...
s,
restricting social media, assaulting protesters and journalists, and arresting online activists. Gotabaya Rajapaksa refused to step down, and after an organized attack by loyalists of
Mahinda Rajapaksa
Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...
against peaceful protestors, the government deployed the military in armoured vehicles with shoot-on-sight orders after protests became violent. On 13 July,
Rajapaksa fled the country to the Maldives via a military aircraft and appointed Prime Minister
Ranil Wickremesinghe
Ranil Wickremesinghe ( si, රනිල් වික්රමසිංහ, ta, ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்க; born 24 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician who is the current president of Sri Lanka since 21 July 2 ...
as the Acting President to exercise Presidential duties during his absence from Sri Lanka.
On 14 July 2022, Rajapaksa officially sent his resignation from Singapore.
On 2 September, Rajapaksa returned to Sri Lanka.
Early life and education
Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa was born in Palatuwa in the
Matara District
Matara ( si, මාතර දිස්ත්රික්කය ''Mātara distrikkaya''; ta, மாத்தறை மாவட்டம் ''Māttaṛai māvaṭṭam'') is a district in Southern Province, Sri Lanka. It is one of 25 districts ...
, as the fifth of nine siblings, and was brought up in
Weeraketiya
Weeraketiya is a small town in Hambantota District, Southern Province in southern Sri Lanka, about by road north of Tangalle. It is known for being the birthplace of Mahinda Rajapaksa. The town belongs to Weeraketiya Divisional Secretariat.
Hi ...
in the southern rural
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
of
Hambantota
Hambantota ( si, හම්බන්තොට, ta, அம்பாந்தோட்டை) is the main town in Hambantota District, Southern Province, Sri LankaThe prominent Malays (මැලේ) most part of the population is to be partly des ...
. He hails from a well-known political family in Sri Lanka. His father,
D. A. Rajapaksa, was a prominent politician, independence agitator, Member of Parliament, Deputy Speaker and Cabinet Minister of Agriculture and Land in
Wijeyananda Dahanayake
Wijeyananda Dahanayake ( si, විජයානන්ද දහනායක ta, விஜயானந்த தகநாயக்கா; 22 October 1902 – 4 May 1997) was a Sri Lankan politician. He was the Prime Minister of Ceylon from Septe ...
's government. His elder brother,
Mahinda Rajapaksa
Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...
was first elected to parliament as a member of the
Sri Lanka Freedom Party
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party ( si, ශ්රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂය, translit=Śrī Laṁkā Nidahas Pakṣaya; ta, இலங்கை சுதந்திரக் கட்சி, translit=Ilaṅkai Cutantirak Ka ...
at the age of 24 in 1970, who gradually rose through the party ranks becoming the Leader of the Opposition in 2001, Prime Minister in 2004 and the President of Sri Lanka in 2005. Two of his other brothers,
Chamal Rajapaksa
Chamal Jayantha Rajapaksa ( Sinhala: චමල් රාජපක්ෂ; Tamil: சமல் ராஜபக்ஷ; born 30 October 1942) is a Sri Lankan politician who was Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka from 2010 to 2015. Previously he ...
and
Basil Rajapaksa, are also current Members of Parliament. He obtained his primary and secondary education at
Ananda College, Colombo.
Military career (1971–1991)
Early career
Rajapaksa joined the
Sri Lankan Army as a
Cadet Officer
St John Ambulance Ireland (SJAI), previously known as the St John Ambulance Brigade of Ireland, is a charitable Volunteering, voluntary organisation in Ireland. For constitutional reasons it is not a full member association of the Venerable Ord ...
on 26 April 1971, when Sri Lanka was still a
dominion
The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire.
"Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...
of the
British Commonwealth
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...
and was in the midst of the
1971 JVP insurrection. Following his basic officer training at the
Army Training Centre, Diyatalawa in its 4th intake, he was commissioned as a
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank.
Australia
The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
on 26 May 1972, in the
Sri Lanka Signals Corps. Soon after he was sent for the signal young officers course at the
Military College of Signals
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
,
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...
. On his return, he was assigned as the signals officer to the
Task Force Anti Illicit Immigration
Task Force Anti Illicit Immigration (TAFII) is a task force deployed by the Sri Lanka Army from 1963 from 1981 to counter illegal immigration from South India. It was the first field formation deployed by the Ceylon Army and had its headquarter ...
, based at its headquarters in
Palaly, under the command of Colonel
Tissa Weeratunga
General Tissa Indraka Weeratunga, VSV (August 29, 1930 – November 2003) was a Sri Lankan senior army officer. He was a former Commander of the Sri Lankan Army (1981 – 1985) and first General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Joint Oper ...
. In April 1974, he was promoted to Lieutenant and in October he transferred to the
Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment
The Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment (SLSR) ( Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකා සිංහ රෙජිමේන්තුව ''Śrī Laṃkā Sinha Rejimēnthuva'') is an infantry regiment of the Sri Lanka Army; it is the second oldest infantry ...
as an infantry officer. In April 1975, he attended the infantry young officers course at the School of Infantry and Tactics,
Queta
Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of th ...
. Returning in June, he was assigned as the battalion intelligence officer at the
Echelon Barracks
Echelon Barracks was a former military barracks situated in Colombo Fort, Colombo. It was occupied by the newly formed Ceylon Army following independence.
History
Built during the late nineteenth century as headquarters of the British Army Garr ...
in
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
and was promoted to
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
in April 1977. Following the change of government in the
1977 general election, he was transferred to the Army Training Centre, Diyatalawa as an officer instructor in August 1977. In January 1978, he was appointed
Grade III Staff Officer of
A branch, handling administration of the
Diyatalawa Garrison
The Diyatalawa Garrison is a common name used for collection of military bases of the Sri Lanka Army located in and around the garrison town Diyatalawa in the Uva Province. Sometimes it is referred to as the ''Diyatalawa Cantonment''. It is one ...
. During this time he attended the senior staff and tactics course at the
Panagoda Cantonment
Panagoda Cantonment is a cantonment located in the western Western Province of Sri Lanka. It serves as the regimental headquarters of many regiments of the Sri Lanka Army and is an arsenal. It also houses one of the main Military Hospitals operat ...
and took part in preparing a report on encroachment of state lands in the north and eastern provinces for the Defense Ministry. Thereafter in 1980, he joined the newly formed
Rajarata Rifles
The Rajarata Rifles was a former rifle regiment of the Sri Lanka Army. It was one of only three geographically based regiments in the Sri Lanka army. The cap badge of the Raja Rata Rifles show the figure of a ''Bherunda Pakshiya'' (Double-headed ...
as its
adjutant
Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...
under its first commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel V. K. Nanayakkara. Rajapaksa played a major role in establishing the regimental headquarters of the newly formed regiment at
Saliyapura. That year he attended the
Counter-Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School, Assam and in 1982 he was selected to attended the Command and Staff course at
Defence Services Staff College
, motto_lang = sa
, mottoeng = ''To War with Wisdom''
, established = (as the ''Army Staff College'', Deolali)
, type = Defence Service Training Institute
, affiliation =
, endowment =
, administrative_staff =
, faculty =
, presi ...
in
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
in India, gaining the
psc qualification and a
Master of Science
A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...
in Defence and Strategic Studies from the
University of Madras
The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigiou ...
.
[Who are the Real Traitors ?](_blank)
. www.defence.lk (30 December 2008). Retrieved on 9 July 2012.
Gajaba Regiment
While Rajapaksa was at staff college in India, the Rajarata Rifles were amalgamated with the
Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment
The Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Sri Lankan Army. Formed on 22 March 1988, it is named after Vijayabahu I of Polonnaruwa (King Vijayabahu, 1055 to 1110 AD). The regiment consists of 17 regular battalions, 9 volunt ...
and the
Gajaba Regiment
The Gajaba Regiment (GR) is an elite infantry regiment of the Sri Lankan Army. Formed on 14 October 1983 at the Saliyapura Camp in Anuradhapura, it is named after the famous Sinhalese warrior King Gajabahu the First. It consists of 14 regula ...
was formed. Having been transferred to the Gajaba Regiment, on his return to the island, he was appointed second-in-command of the 1st Battalion, Gajaba Regiment (1GR) under the command of Lieutenant Colonel
Vijaya Wimalaratne
Major General Vanigamuni Indrajith Vijeyakumar Mendis Wimalaratne, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, psc, GR ( si, විජය විමලරත්න; 25 August 1940 – 8 August 1992) was a senior Sri Lanka Army officer. One of the most distinguish ...
, instead of the traditional staff appointment that followed the returning officer from staff college. Following retraining, the 1st Battalion was deployed to the Jaffna peninsula between 1983 and 1984 and again 1985 with the escalation of the
Sri Lankan Civil War. During this time he commanded detachments of his battalion based in
Jaffna
Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most ...
and at
Elephant Pass
Elephant Pass, (, si, අලිමංකඩ Alimankada) Northern Province, Sri Lanka is located in the gateway of Jaffna Peninsula. It lies about 340 km north from capital. It has an important military base and used to be the island's larg ...
. In 1985 he led an ad hoc unit made up of new recruits that successfully ambushed a LTTE raiding party, for which he was awarded commendation from the President
J.R. Jayewardene in the first combat award ceremony. He took part in
Operation Liberation
Operation Liberation also known as the Vadamarachchi Operation was the military offensive carried out by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces in May and June 1987 to recapture the territory of Vadamarachchi in the Jaffna peninsula from the LTTE, LTTE (T ...
commanding the 1GR, the offensive mounted to liberate
Vadamarachi from
LTTE
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
in 1987. In July 1987, the 1GR was transferred to Colombo and Rajapaksa assisted Colonel Wimalaratne in securing Colombo with the outset of the
second JVP insurrection until his battalion was transferred to Trincomalee in October 1987. In December 1987, Rajapaksa appointed a
Grade II Staff Officer at
Army Headquarters in the training branch under Colonel
C. H. Fernando
Major General C.H. Fernando, VSV (1930 – 2020) was a senior Sri Lanka Army officer, who was the former Director of Operations, General Staff; GOC, 2 Division; Commander, Northern Command.United States Army Infantry School
The United States Army Infantry School is a school located at Fort Benning, Georgia that is dedicated to training infantrymen for service in the United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United State ...
,
Fort Benning
Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...
. He was promoted to
Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...
while in course and returned to his staff appointment at Army Headquarters in January 1989. In July 1989, he was appointed commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, Gajaba Regiment. Soon after the 1GR was moved to
Matale
Matale ( Sinhala: මාතලේ, ta, மாத்தளை, translit=Māttaḷai) is the administrative capital city of the Matale District. It is the most urbanised and populated centre in the district. Matale is also the second largest muni ...
and Rajapaksa was appointment as the military coordinating officer of the
Matale District
Matale District ( si, මාතලේ දිස්ත්රික්කය, ta, மாத்தளை மாவட்டம்) is a district in Central Province, Sri Lanka. It is one of 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administra ...
at the height of the
1987–1989 JVP insurrection undertaking counter insurgency operations in the district and remained in that capacity until end of the insurrection in December 1989. During 1990, he commanded 1GR in
Weli Oya
Weli Oya, ( ta, மணலாறு, translit=Maṇalāṟu) is a Sinhalese colony area in Mullaithivu District, Sri Lanka formerly known as Manal Aru. Weli Oya has been affected by the Sri Lankan civil war and government colonization programs. ...
, serving as the military coordinating officer for the Weli Oya sector under the command of
Brigadier
Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...
Janaka Perera
Major General Janaka Perera, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, VSP, rcds, psc, CR (1 February 1946 – 6 October 2008) was a Sri Lankan General and politician. He served as the Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army and is considered one of the most d ...
and with 1 GR took part in the Operation "Strike Hard" and
Operation Thrividha Balaya
Operation Thrividha Balaya was a combined military operation, the first of its kind, launched by the Sri Lankan Military in Jaffna. The Operation was carried out to break the siege of the Sri Lanka Army garrison of the old Dutch Jaffna For ...
in Jaffna under the command of
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Denzil Kobbekaduwa
Lieutenant General Denzil Lakshman Kobbekaduwa, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP ( si, ඩෙන්සිල් ලක්ෂ්මණ් කොබ්බෑකඩුව; 27 July 1940 – 8 August 1992) was a senior Sri Lankan Army officer who served in t ...
. In January 1991, he was appointed Deputy Commandant of the
Sir John Kotelawala Defence Academy and held the position until his early retirement from the army on 1 November 1991.
Immigration to the United States
Following his return to civilian life, Rajapaksa read for a postgraduate diploma in information technology from the
University of Colombo
(Buddhih Sarvatra Bhrajate)
, mottoeng = ''Wisdom Enlightens''
, established =
, endowment = Sri Lankan rupee, LKR 1.461 1,000,000,000 (number), billion and joined Informatics, an IT firm based in Colombo as a Marketing Manager in 1992. He subsequently migrated to the United States in 1998 and worked at
Loyola Law School
Loyola Law School is the law school of Loyola Marymount University, a private Catholic university in Los Angeles, California. Loyola was established in 1920.
Academics
Degrees offered include the Juris Doctor (JD); Master of Science in Legal ...
in Los Angeles, U.S., as a Systems Integrator and
Unix
Unix (; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multiuser computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and ot ...
Solaris
Solaris may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Literature, television and film
* ''Solaris'' (novel), a 1961 science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem
** ''Solaris'' (1968 film), directed by Boris Nirenburg
** ''Solaris'' (1972 film), directed by ...
Administrator.
Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development (2005–2015)
In order to assist his brother's presidential election campaign, Rajapaksa returned to Sri Lanka from the United States in 2005. He re obtained citizenship of Sri Lanka but kept his US citizenship. Gotabaya Rajapaksa was appointed to the post of
Permanent Secretary
A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day ...
of the
Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...
in November 2005 by newly elected President Mahinda Rajapaksa. In this capacity, he oversaw the military operation which eventually defeated the LTTE in May 2009.
With his position, Rajapaksa also pursued projects like the Colombo Beautification Project, which revitalised public centers and parks in
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
, as well as many other development projects focused on places such as
Battaramulla
Battaramulla is a suburb of Colombo, situated from the city centre at Colombo Fort, near the Parliament of Sri Lanka. It is one of the fastest developing administrative, commercial and residential areas in the Colombo District, being home to the ...
Diyatha Uyana
Diyatha Uyana is located at Polduwa junction, Battaramulla near the Waters Edge Hotel. The park has been constructed on marshy land on the banks of the Diyawanna Oya. It sits between the Sri Lankan Parliament Building, Parliament Complex and the D ...
, Ape Gama Park, Wetland Park,
Nugegoda
Nugegoda ( si, නුගේගොඩ) is a large, densely populated suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is located in the border of Sri Jayawardenapura Municipal Council limits and Dehiwela Mt. Lavinia Municipal Council limits, just outside Colombo ...
,
Arcade Independence Square,
Weras Ganga Park
The Weras Ganga Park (also known as ''Weras Ganga Bellanwila Recreation Park'') is a public park located in Bellanwila area, next to the Bellanwila Rajamaha Viharaya in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
History
Weras Ganga Park was opened in 2014 as a part ...
and
Defence Headquarters Complex.
In 2011, the Ministry of Defense was renamed to the Ministry of Defense and Urban Development, having absorbed responsibilities related to urban development. Results of his work were remarkable as Colombo became to the top of the list of fast developing cities in the world in 2015 by an annual travel study by MasterCard.
Assassination attempt
On 1 December 2006, at approximately 10:35 an assassin attempted to drive an explosive-laden
auto-rikshaw into Rajapaksa's motorcade as it traveled through
Kollupitiya
Kollupitiya, also known as Colpetty is a major neighbourhood of Colombo, Sri Lanka. The name Kollupitiya comes from the name of a chief from Kandy who had unsuccessfully attempted to dethrone the last king of Kandy. During the period of British ...
, Colombo. The
Sri Lanka Army Commandos guarding him obstructed the vehicle carrying the explosives before it reached Rajapakse's vehicle and two commandos were instantly killed. Rajapaksa escaped unhurt.
The LTTE were blamed for the attack.
Karuna defection
Gotabaya is credited with using the
Karuna faction effectively during the war to defeat the LTTE. The former
LTTE
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
commander Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan, better known as
Colonel Karuna
Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan ('' nom de guerre'': Colonel Karuna Amman; ta, விநாயகமூர்த்தி முரளிதரன், ''Vināyakamūrtti Muraḷitaraņ'', born 22 June 1966) is a Sri Lankan politician and forme ...
, told British authorities that Rajapaksa was instrumental in arranging for him to be issued with a false diplomatic passport so that he could flee to Britain in September 2007. These allegations were denied by the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister
Rohitha Bogollagama at the time, and later by Rajapaksa.
Criticism of the United Nations and western countries
In June 2007, Rajapaksa was severely critical of the United Nations (UN) and of western governments. He accused the UN of having been infiltrated by terrorists "for 30 years or so", and as a result the UN was fed incorrect information. He also alleged that Britain and the EU were bullying Sri Lanka, and concluded that Sri Lanka "does not need them", and that they don't provide any significant amount of aid to the country. Critics pointed out that in 1990 his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa was caught attempting to bring evidence of human rights violations in Sri Lanka to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and the evidence was confiscated by the government during which Rajapaksa justified foreign intervention in Sri Lankan affairs. Mahinda Rajapaksa had also demanded western nations to limit and put conditions on foreign aid to Sri Lanka.
Legal dispute with Lasantha Wickrematunge
In August 2007,
Lasantha Wickrematunge
Lasantha Manilal Wickrematunge ( si, ලසන්ත වික්රමතුංග, ta, லசந்த விக்கிரமதுங்க; 5 April 1958 – 8 January 2009) was a high-profile Sri Lankan journalist, politician, br ...
published an exposé on a military contract for
MiG
Russian Aircraft Corporation "MiG" (russian: Российская самолётостроительная корпорация „МиГ“, Rossiyskaya samolyotostroitel'naya korporatsiya "MiG"), commonly known as Mikoyan and MiG, was a Russi ...
aircraft. involving the "duplicitous" purchase of the
Mikoyan MiG-27
The Mikoyan MiG-27 (russian: Микоян МиГ-27; NATO reporting name: Flogger-D/J) is a variable-sweep ground-attack aircraft, originally built by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union and later licence-produced in Ind ...
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
Fighter Aircraft
Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
between Gotabaya Rajapaksa, his cousin
Udayanga Weeratunga and the
Sri Lanka Air Force
The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) ( si, ශ්රි ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාව, Śrī Laṃkā guwan hamudāva; ta, இலங்கை விமானப்படை, Ilaṅkai vimāṉappaṭai) is the air arm and the yo ...
.
On 18 October 2007, attorney-at-law
Ali Sabry (Sri Lankan politician)
Mohamed Uvais Mohamed Ali Sabry, President's Counsel, PC, Member of Parliament, MP (Sinhala language, Sinhala: මොහොමඩ් උවයිස් මොහොමඩ් අලි සබ්රි, Tamil language, Tamil: மோஹமட் உ ...
and lawyers representing Rajapaksa wrote to Wickrematunge threatening to sue him for defamation for Rs. 2 billion (€14 million) in damages.
On 22 February 2008, Rajapaksa filed a lawsuit for defamation against Wickrematunge and
Leader Publications
''Leader Publications'' is a Sri Lankan newspaper publisher. Its publications are The Sunday Leader, Morning Leader and Iruresa It was founded by Lal Wickrematunge and Lasantha Wickrematunge
Lasantha Manilal Wickrematunge ( si, ලසන ...
, charging that the allegations made by Wickrematunge against Rajapaksa were defamatory. Rajapaksa asserted that his role of
Defence Secretary
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
"had been adversely affected due to Wickrematunge, creating adverse consequences to the war against the rebels in the battlefield."
On 5 December 2008, a judge ordered Leader Publications not to publish any reports about Gotabaya Rajapaksa, for two weeks.
Several Weeks later, Wickrematunge was assassinated days before he was to testify and give evidence in court regarding the MiG deal.
Wickrematunge's daughter has publicly held Rajapaksa responsible for the assassination.
Alleged human rights violations
On 3 February 2009, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa stated to the international media (in reference to the only hospital in the war front being shelled), that everything is a legitimate target if it is not within the safe zone the government has created and that all persons subject to attack by the armed forces were legitimate LTTE targets as there are no independent observers, only LTTE sympathisers, radio announcements were made and movement of civilians started a month and a half ago.
As per
WikiLeaks
WikiLeaks () is an international Nonprofit organization, non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous Source (journalism), sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activism, Internet acti ...
, General
Sarath Fonseka
Field Marshal Gardihewa Sarath Chandralal Fonseka ( si, ගාර්දිහේවා සරත් චන්ද්රලාල් ෆොන්සේකා, ta, சரத் பொன்சேகா; born 18 December 1950), commonly know ...
who led the war against LTTE had accused Rajapaksa of ordering at the end of the war the shooting of any LTTE leaders who might try to surrender under flags of truce. Rajapaksa is alleged to have threatened to execute Fonseka if he revealed any war secrets.
In an interview on the Sri Lanka TV channel Ada Derana on 16 March 2015, Rajapaksa stated that he is a citizen of the United States but cannot travel to the United States because of alleged war crimes charges against him. Rajapaksa however visited the United States in 2016 and two Tamil groups have urged the United States government to arrest and prosecute him. Sri Lankan government rejected to support the call to arrest Rajapaksa by Tamil groups.
As reported by
The Sunday Leader
''The Sunday Leader'' was an English-language Sri Lankan weekly newspaper published by Leader Publications (Private) Limited. It was founded in 1994 and is published from Colombo. Its sister newspapers are the '' Iruresa'' ('' Irudina'') and the ...
, Major General Prasad Samarasinghe, the former military spokesman and director of the Directorate of Media in the army, has been passing highly sensitive information to the US Embassy in Colombo on abductions. Many of those abducted were believed to have been individuals who had fallen foul of the Rajapaksa trio, Mahinda, Basil and Gotabaya. During her visit to the country, United Nations Human Rights Commissioner
Navanetham Pillay
Navanethem "Navi" Pillay (born 23 September 1941) is a South Africa, South African jurist who served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014. A South African of Indian people, Indian Tamils, Tamil origin, she wa ...
expressed her disappointment over "white van" related disappearances reported in Colombo, and other parts of the country, which were not covered by the Commission of Inquiry on Disappearances set up by the government.
Investigations on the 2008 abduction of journalist Keith Noyahr resulted in a White Van being discovered in 2017 March from a house at Piliyandala with connections to an Army Major that was believed to have been used for the abduction. Police believes that the van may have been used for other crimes as well as being part of the operation to murder Lasantha Wickrematunge. A few weeks after the Keith noyahr abduction in 2008 Namal Perera a course coordinator at the Sri Lanka College of Journalism was violently attacked by a gang that came in the same White Van with a fake number plate and attempted to abduct him after attacking his car but was foiled by residents and heavy traffic. Namal Perera identified two of his would-be-killers Duminda Weeraratne and Hemachandra Perera in April 2017.
Bandara Bulathwatte was a key suspect in the murder of Lasantha was given a diplomatic post in Thailand at the request of Gotabaya Rajapaksa near the 2010 presidential election. The letter sent bt Gotabaya was prepared in haste and even a bio data of Bulathwatte was not attached despite it being a requirement for him to get his visa and have the appointment regularised by the foreign ministry. But after the elections, Rajapaska requested his departure to be postponed claiming an urgent matter regarding national security. Technical evidence and telephone records have placed Bulathwatte at the location where Lasantha was killed as well as in the places where other journalists were attacked. Investigations on assassinations, abductions and assaults on journalist after the fall of the Rajapaksa government revealed that Gotabaya directed a
death squad
A death squad is an armed group whose primary activity is carrying out extrajudicial killings or forced disappearances as part of political repression, genocide, ethnic cleansing, or revolutionary terror. Except in rare cases in which they are ...
to attack journalists that was outside the Army command structure during this time 17 journalists and media workers were killed and others were either assaulted or abducted.
Nadarajah Raviraj, a well-known human-rights lawyer and a parliamentarian, was shot and killed in
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
on 10 November 2006. At a magisterial hearing in Colombo on 26 February 2016, Liyanarachchi Abeyrathna, a former police officer attached to the State Intelligence Agency, stated that Gotabaya Rajapaksa paid Rs. 50 million to an organisation led by
Colonel Karuna
Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan ('' nom de guerre'': Colonel Karuna Amman; ta, விநாயகமூர்த்தி முரளிதரன், ''Vināyakamūrtti Muraḷitaraņ'', born 22 June 1966) is a Sri Lankan politician and forme ...
to murder Raviraj.
Relationship with the media
Rajapaksa has been accused of threatening journalists on several occasions, including telling two journalists attached to the state-owned Lake House Publications that unless they stop criticising the armed forces "what will happen to you is beyond my control". When asked by the two journalists if he was threatening them, he replied "I am definitely not threatening your lives. Our services are appreciated by 99 per cent of the people. They love the Army Commander (General
Sarath Fonseka
Field Marshal Gardihewa Sarath Chandralal Fonseka ( si, ගාර්දිහේවා සරත් චන්ද්රලාල් ෆොන්සේකා, ta, சரத் பொன்சேகா; born 18 December 1950), commonly know ...
) and the Army. There are Sri Lankan patriots who love us do and will do what is required if necessary." In April 2007 he was accused of allegedly calling the editor of the ''
Daily Mirror
The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...
'' Champika Liyanaarachchi and threatening her, saying that she would escape reprisals only if she resigned. He was also accused of threatening to "exterminate" the ''Daily Mirror'' journalist Uditha Jayasinghe for writing articles about the plight of civilian war casualties.
A 5 December 2008 story from ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' quoted his news reporting position as "he insists that journalists should not be allowed to report anything that demoralises the war effort".
In an editorial titled "A brother out of control" (16 August 2011), ''
The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
'' raised the observation, "President Rajapaksa would be well advised to distance himself swiftly from his brother's stream-of-consciousness on sensitive issues that are not his business. This includes an outrageous comment that because a Tamil woman, an "LTTE cadre" who was a British national, interviewed in the Channel 4 documentary was "so attractive" but had been neither raped nor killed by Sri Lankan soldiers, the allegation of sexual assault by soldiers could not be true. For this statement alone, Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa must be taken to task."
In May 2015, ''The Sunday Leader'' tendered an unconditional apology to Gotabaya Rajapaksa for a series of articles regarding the purchase of MIG 27 airplanes for the
Sri Lanka Air Force
The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) ( si, ශ්රි ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාව, Śrī Laṃkā guwan hamudāva; ta, இலங்கை விமானப்படை, Ilaṅkai vimāṉappaṭai) is the air arm and the yo ...
.
Alleged corruption
Sripathi Sooriyarachchi, assassinated journalist
Lasantha Wickrematunge
Lasantha Manilal Wickrematunge ( si, ලසන්ත වික්රමතුංග, ta, லசந்த விக்கிரமதுங்க; 5 April 1958 – 8 January 2009) was a high-profile Sri Lankan journalist, politician, br ...
and others had accused Rajapaksa of corruption since 2006. In 2015
Interpol
The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...
provided further evidence to the Sri Lankan government on corrupt military procurements. In March 2015, a Sri Lankan court imposed a travel ban on Rajapaksa over allegations he used a commercial
floating armory as a private arsenal. The travel ban was lifted by the court in December 2016. UNP MP Mangala Samaraweera claimed that Gotabaya's son illegally occupied a house rented for a consulate in Los Angeles and caused millions of rupees in losses to the state. Rajapaksa rejected the allegations regarding occupying a house rented for a consulate in LA.
Private life
After the defeat of
Mahinda Rajapaksa
Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...
in the
2015 Presidential elections, he was replaced as Secretary of Defence by
B. M. U. D. Basnayake a day after the new president was sworn in.
Alleged assassination plot
In September 2018 Director of the Anti Corruption Movement revealed a conspiracy to assassinate President
Maithripala Sirisena
Maithripala Yapa Sirisena ( si, පල්ලෙවත්ත ගමරාළලාගේ මෛත්රීපාල යාපා සිරිසේන; ta, பல்லேவத்த கமராளலாகே மைத்திரி ...
and former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa because the duo are against the drug trade.
CID of Sri Lanka Police investigated the issue.
2019 presidential campaign
It was widely speculated and even claimed by several politicians that Gotabaya Rajapaksa would be contesting the 2020 elections. However, this was denied by Rajapaksa but claimed that he will accept if he was offered the candidacy.
United States lawsuit
In April 2019,
Lasantha Wickrematunge
Lasantha Manilal Wickrematunge ( si, ලසන්ත වික්රමතුංග, ta, லசந்த விக்கிரமதுங்க; 5 April 1958 – 8 January 2009) was a high-profile Sri Lankan journalist, politician, br ...
's daughter Ahimsa Wickrematunge filed a civil lawsuit against Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the state of California.
Wickrematunge's daughter's lawsuit alleged that Rajapaksa was behind his death.
Rajapaksa, who was visiting the U.S. to renounce his citizenship, was served legal documents outside a
Trader Joe's
Trader Joe's is an American chain of grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. The chain has over 569 stores across the United States.
The first Trader Joe's store was opened in 1967 by founder Joe Coulombe in Pasadena, Californi ...
parking lot in
Pasadena
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district.
Its ...
.
Rajapaksa arrived back to Sri Lanka from the United States and was greeted by his supporters and members of the Buddhist Clergy who came to the
Bandaranaike International Airport
Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) ( si, බණ්ඩාරනායක ජාත්යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළ, translit=Bandāranāyaka Jātyantara Guvantoṭupaḷa; ta, பண்டாரநாயக்க ...
to stand in solidarity with Rajapaksa. Due to the case filed against him, Rajapaksa's ability to renounce his citizenship was stalled.
Rajapaksa alleged that the case filed against him by Wickrematunge's daughter was "politically motivated" by the
United National Party
The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...
to stop him from contesting the Presidential Election that year.
On 21 October 2019, the United States District Court for the
Central District of California
The United States District Court for the Central District of California (in case citations, C.D. Cal.; commonly referred to as the CDCA or CACD) is a Federal trial court that serves over 19 million people in Southern and Central California, m ...
granted Gotabaya Rajapaksa's motion to dismiss, finding that he was entitled to foreign official immunity for acts undertaken while serving as Secretary of Defense.
On 27 February 2020, the
Ninth Circuit Court
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts:
* District ...
of Appeals granted Wickrematunge's daughter's request to vacate the District Court's ruling that Rajapaksa is entitled to foreign official immunity for acts committed while he was Secretary of Defense of Sri Lanka. The Ninth Circuit granted the request to dismiss the case without prejudice.
On 11 August 2019,
Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna
The Sri Lanka People's Front ( si, ශ්රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණ, translit=Śrī Laṃkā Podujana Peramuna; ta, இலங்கை பொதுஜன முன்னணி, translit=Ilaṅkai Potujaṉa Mu ...
led by former president
Mahinda Rajapaksa
Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...
announced that Rajapaksa will be their candidate for the
2019 Presidential election. Rajapaksa campaigned on a pro-nationalistic, economic development and national security platform in which he gained 6,924,255 votes, which was 52.25% of the total cased votes and 1,360,016 votes majority over
New Democratic Front candidate
Sajith Premadasa
Sajith Premadasa, MP ( si, සජිත් ප්රේමදාස, ta, 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 Par ...
. Rajapaksa won a majority in the predominant
Sinhalese
Sinhala may refer to:
* Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka
* Sinhalese people
* Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka
* Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language
** Sinha ...
areas of the island which included the districts of Kalutara, Galle, Matara, Hambantota, Monaragala, Ratnapura, Badulla, Kurunegala, Puttalam, Gampaha, Kandy, Matale, Polonnaruwa Colombo, Kegalle and Anuradhapura, while Premadasa gained a majority in areas dominated by
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
and
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
minorities, which had been effected by the civil war.
Citizenship row
During the campaign, several political parties including then ruling
United National Party
The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...
accused him of having American citizenship and claimed that he stayed and lived in America for more than ten years and revealed that he was not a Sri Lankan citizen. Gotabaya was also pressured to not to contest at the Presidential elections because of holding dual citizenship. Further he was alleged to have carried a duplicate Sri Lankan passport with him and court cases were pending against him over the citizenship issue and the issue regarding his passport. Former President and the elder brother of Gotabaya,
Mahinda Rajapaksa
Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...
was also accused of using his executive powers to grant his brother, the Sri Lankan citizenship after commencing his first term as president in November 2005. The judge of the Court of Appeal gave verdict on the former's pending court cases on 4 October 2019, dismissed the petition challenging Gotabaya's citizenship. He was also allowed to contest at the elections but did not take part in the debate among Presidential candidates which was held on 5 October 2019, was also historically Sri Lanka's first-ever debate to have been conducted among Presidential candidates for an upcoming election. Rajapaksa's name was included in the
for Q2 2020.
Presidency (2019–2022)
Rajapaksa's inauguration took place at the
Ruwanwelisaya
The Ruwanweli Maha Seya, also known as the Mahathupa (), is a stupa (a hemispherical structure containing relics) in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. Two quarts or one Dona of the Buddha's relics are enshrined in the stupa, making it the largest collec ...
in
Anuradhapura
Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central ...
on 18 November 2019. It is the first elected office Rajapaksa has held and he is the first non-career politician and former military officer to serve as president. Following the assumption of the office of president, he announced intentions to form a new government and taking over the portfolio of defence. On 19 November 2019, following taking over assumed duties at the
Presidential Secretariat, he appointed
P. B. Jayasundera as Secretary to the President and
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Kamal Gunaratne
General G. D. H. Kamal Gunaratne, WWV, RWP, RSP, USP is a retired Sri Lankan military officer. He is the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and the State Ministry of National Security and Disaster Management. A retired career officer of ...
as Secretary of Defence, as well as a new Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On 20 November, Prime Minister
Ranil Wickremesinghe
Ranil Wickremesinghe ( si, රනිල් වික්රමසිංහ, ta, ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்க; born 24 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician who is the current president of Sri Lanka since 21 July 2 ...
had agreed to resign for Rajapaksa to form a caretaker government until fresh parliamentary elections can be held after the President can constitutionally dissolve parliament in March 2020. On the same day, the presidential secretariat called for all
provincial governors to tender their resignations. On 21 November, he appointed his brother
Mahinda Rajapaksa
Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...
as Prime Minister following the resignation of
Ranil Wickremesinghe
Ranil Wickremesinghe ( si, රනිල් වික්රමසිංහ, ta, ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்க; born 24 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician who is the current president of Sri Lanka since 21 July 2 ...
and the day after appointed a
15 member Cabinet of Ministers. Thus, Sri Lanka became only the second nation in the world after
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
to have a combination of brothers taking charge as president and Prime Minister of a country at the same occasion. Following the protests calling for his resignation, Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed a new Cabinet to pacify the protests. He took away the power from three of his relatives, ousting two of his brothers and his nephew from the Cabinet. Mahinda Rajapaksa was still the Prime Minister.
COVID-19 pandemic
The
COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka
The COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 () virus. The first case of the virus in Sri Lanka was c ...
started in March 2020. Rajapakse at first refused to
lock down
"Lock Down" is a song by British girl-group Stooshe. It is a song with live instruments, strong beats and thick synths. The video was directed and produced by Damien Sandoval. It includes a cameo from America's Next Top Model and Guess model ...
the country but later decided to impose a
curfew
A curfew is a government order specifying a time during which certain regulations apply. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to ''not'' be in public places or on roads within a certain time frame, typically in the evening and ...
when the number of cases began to rise. Rajapaksa dissolved parliament on 2 March. The election was initially put on by Rajapakse on 25 April 2020, was then postponed by the election commission to 20 June 2020. His administration is said to have caused the
Sri Lankan economic and food crisis following his policies of tax reduction, money printing, and organic farming.
2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election
General Election was held on 5 August 2020.
Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna
The Sri Lanka People's Front ( si, ශ්රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණ, translit=Śrī Laṃkā Podujana Peramuna; ta, இலங்கை பொதுஜன முன்னணி, translit=Ilaṅkai Potujaṉa Mu ...
(SLPP) was able to secure a landslide victory in the election claiming the majority winning 145 seats out of 225 seats. The main opposition party
Samagi Jana Balawegaya
The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (, ta, ஐக்கிய மக்கள் சக்தி, "United People's Power") is a political alliance that is led by the opposition leader of Sri Lanka, Sajith Premadasa. The alliance was formed with the appro ...
won just 54 seats. SLPP victory is mainly owing to the predominant success in curbing the COVID-19 pandemic and due to the negative publicity about the UNP-led government, which was accused of a major intelligence failure triggered by the aftermath of the
2019 Easter attacks.
Environmental Policy and Deforestation
The Sri Lankan government under President Gotabaya transferred the administration of non-protected forests, known as "other state forests" (OSF), to regional authorities, in a controversial circular, with a view to releasing them for agriculture and development. The move was claimed to be a part of government efforts to boost domestic food production, but has been criticized by environmental activists as government-backed deforestation and implied permission-granting for unregulated logging concessions in high biodiversity areas.
Agricultural catastrophe
In April 2021, Rajapaksa "declared that the entire country would immediately switch to organic farming", yet as of February 2022, still "a majority of farmers say they received no training in organic techniques".
The 2021 rice harvest failed, leading to a $1.2 billion emergency food aid program, a $200 million income-support program, and "huge sums to import hundreds of thousands of tons of rice".
[ Rajapaksa's "sudden and disastrous turn toward organic farming" was panned in international media and the policies were scaled back before the year was over. By April 2022, the government had reversed its decision and was seeking a US$700 million loan from the World Bank to revive the agricultural sector by providing it with imported agrochemicals following a massive drop production in the "Maha" season.
]
Economic crisis and downfall
Rajapaksa administration introduced massive tax cuts in late 2019, which lead to a drop in government revenue that was soon compounded with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw the island nation losing its lucrative US$3 billion tourism industry that put 200,000 out of work in 2020 and most of 2021. Although the export sector picked up by 2021 and tourism started picking up, it appeared that Sri Lanka was facing its most severe economic crisis
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the p ...
since its independence in 1948 due to the loss of revenue from tax cuts, rampant money printing and unsustainable borrowings. By end of 2021, Sri Lanka was facing a debt crisis
Debt crisis is a situation in which a government (nation, state/province, county, or city etc.) loses the ability of paying back its governmental debt. When the expenditures of a government are more than its tax revenues for a prolonged period, th ...
with a possibility of sovereign default
A sovereign default is the failure or refusal of the
government of a sovereign state to pay back its debt in full when due. Cessation of due payments (or receivables) may either be accompanied by that government's formal declaration that it wi ...
. In early 2022, the Rajapaksa administration avoided debt restructuring opposing an IMF bailout in favour of a homegrown solution for the debt crisis. This strategy depleted foreign currency reserves and gold reserves in an effort to bolster the Sri Lankan Rupee and repayment of sovereign bonds, the central bank free floated of the currency in early March which saw a 30% depreciation of the Rupee against the dollar in days following major shortages of fuel, food and medicine. According to a poll conducted by Verité Research
Verité Research is an independent interdisciplinary think tank providing strategic analysis and advice for governments and the private sector in Asia. Its main research divisions are economics, politics, law, and media.
Based in Colombo
C ...
in March 2022 the government's approval rating had fallen to just 10% as a result of the crisis. The Rajapaksa administration reached out the IMF in March as public protests increased in the face of shortages of electricity, fuel, cooking gas, medicine and food, with an IMF report published in late March reported that Sri Lanka was facing an solvency problem with unsustainable debt. The administration has been heavily leaning on friendly countries such as China and India for cash swaps, credit lines and loans to import essentials and debt service, in turn facing accusations of making strategic concessions to these countries. Following severe shortages of fuel, the state owned Ceylon Electricity Board
The Ceylon Electricity Board - CEB ( si, ලංකා විදුලිබල මණ්ඩලය - ලංවිම, Lankā Vidulibala Mandalaya - Lanwima; ta, இலங்கை மின்சார சபை - இமிச), is the largest el ...
was forced to implement 10–13 hour power cuts across the island in late March. This triggered popular protests in parts of the island and on the night of 31 March, protesters charged at Rajapaksa's private residence in Mirihana which turned violent, resulting in the police dispersing the crowds and declaring a curfew until dawn. On 3 April, the entire cabinet of ministers resigned and Rajapaksa offered to form a national government with the other political parties in parliament, which was turned down.
On 18 April, Rajapaksa appointed 17 new cabinet members, selected among his party members. This move was seen as a sign of Rajapaksa's lack of willingness to listen and adhere to the protesters' demands.
Resignation, exile and return
On 9 July 2022, Rajapaksa fled his official residence in Colombo prior to protesters breaking through police barricades and entering the premises. Protesters were seen occupying the mansion, even swimming in the president's pool. Later that evening the Speaker of the Parliament confirmed that the president would resign his office on 13 July 2022. On 11 July, the Prime Minister's Office also reconfirmed it. On 9 and 10 July, Rajapaksa's whereabouts were unknown to the public until Sri Lankan military sources told the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
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on 11 July, that the President was on a Navy vessel in Sri Lankan waters. Later that day, the Speaker of the Parliament announced that the President was still in the country. It was later revealed that Rajapaksa and his wife were evacuated from the President's House on the morning of 9 July by the
and sailed within Sri Lankan territorial waters allowing Rajapaksa to maintain communications while being safely out of reach of the protesters. On 12 July, it was reported that Rajapaksa was blocked from leaving the country by immigration staff at
and his visa request for United States was rejected.
In the morning of 13 July, Rajapaksa left Sri Lanka via an
. There were protests in Maldives upon his arrival. While in Maldives, he issued a gazette stating that he is "unable to exercise, perform and discharge the powers, duties and functions of the Office of the President" by reason of his absence from Sri Lanka and appointed
as acting president under Article 37 (1) of the constitution of Sri Lanka.
However, Rajapaksa was yet to officially resign from presidency on 13 July as he had previously announced on 9 July. On 14 July, Rajapaksa left Maldives for
flight. Singapore's
said in a statement that Rajapaksa had been allowed entry into Singapore on a private visit, and that he had neither asked for nor been granted any asylum.
Later that day, President Rajapaksa sent his resignation letter to the Speaker of the Parliament through email, formally announcing his resignation. Rajapaksa would be the first Sri Lankan president to resign in the middle of his term.
In his resignation letter which was formally read out at the parliament on 16 July, he had stated:
On 2 September, Rajapaksa returned to Sri Lanka, ending his 52-day self-imposed exile.
During his 20 years of military service, Rajapaksa has received medals from three Presidents of Sri Lanka,
. These include the gallantry medals,
, service medals and campaign medals. He received the
during his tenor as Defense Secretary.
on 6 September 2009, along with his brother President Mahinda Rajapaksa following public acclaim as a war hero.
certificate for conducting his election campaign representing SLPP in eco-friendly manner. His election campaign became the first zero carbon election campaign in the world.
* Army, Sri Lanka. (1st Edition – October 1999). ''Sri Lanka Army: 50 Years On, 1949–1999'', Colombo:
. 932 p.,
* ''The Broken Palmyra – The Tamil Crisis in Sri Lanka: An Inside Account''. The Sri Lanka Studies Institute,
, 1990. By
. (Als
* ''War and Peace in Sri Lanka: With a Post-Accord Report From Jaffna''. /,
.