Harin Fernando,
MP (born 28 October 1978) is a Sri Lankan politician. He is the current Cabinet
Minister of Tourism and Lands He is also a current member of the
Sri Lanka Parliament from
National List
The National List ( he, רשימה ממלכתית, ''Reshima Mamlakhtit''), sometimes translated as the State List, was a political party in Israel. Despite being founded by David Ben-Gurion, one of the fathers of the Israeli left, the party is ...
. He previously served as the Minister of Telecommunication, Digital Infrastructure facilities, Foreign Employment, Sports, and tourism in previous Sri Lankan governments.
He was the 7th
Chief Minister of
Uva Province
Uva Province ( si, ඌව පළාත, Uva Paḷāta, ta, ஊவா மாகாணம், Uvā Mākāṇam) is Sri Lanka's second least populated Provinces of Sri Lanka, province, with 1,259,880 people, created in 1896. It consists of two dis ...
.
Early life and education
Born in
Wattala to a Roman Catholic family, Fernando was educated at
St. Joseph's College, Colombo
, motto_translation = In Knowledge and Virtue
, location = T. B. Jayah Mawatha, Colombo 10
, country = Sri Lanka
, coordinates =
, caption = School Facade
, pushpin_m ...
.
Political career
Fernando was appointed as
United National Party (UNP) electoral organizer for Badulla District at age of 27 and won the highest number of votes in the Uva Province Council Election in 2005. He was elected as Member of Parliament for Badulla District in 2010 and resigned on 5 August 2014 to contest as candidate for Chief Minister of Uva Province. Even though Fernando won the highest number of preferential votes, the UNP lost in Uva Provincial Council election. Fernando became the leader of the opposition in the Uva Province Council.
Fernando played critical role in defeating
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 ...
at the
Presidential Election 2015 which Rajapaksa called for early election when UPFA won narrowly at
Uva Provincial Election. He had strongly criticised the
Rajapaksa regime for its corruption, authoritarian rule and rise of lawlessness. Fernando also openly campaigned for the Common Candidate
Maithripala Sirisena at the Presidential Election which had curb the popularity of
UPFA in the Uva Province compare to
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
.
[Significantly reduced Rajapaksa's popularity in ''Badulla'' and ''Monaragala'' after Harin's criticisms.]
Soon after the
Presidency Election, a number of UPFA provincial councilors backed him thus giving the majority in the Uva Province Council. He was sworn in as Chief Minister of Uva Province before the
Governor and unseated
Shashindra Rajapaksa
Shasheendra Kumara Rajapaksa (known as ''Shasheendra Rajapaksa'') is a Sri Lankan politician. He is a Member of Sri Lankan Parliament for Monaragala District and former State Minister of Paddy and Cereals, Organic Food, Vegetables, Fruits, Chil ...
from power.
In August 2015, he was elected to parliament gaining the highest votes in the Badulla District. Shortly thereafter he was appointed as Cabinet Minister of Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure.
He criticized Facebook for being too slow to combat users who were using Facebook and
WhatsApp to facilitate
anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka.
Personal life
He is married to Ravindani Yashendra Dias in 2003 and has two children, Nikhel Joshue Chethiya Fernando and Naiara Chaithika Fernando
References
Notes
Members of the 14th Parliament of Sri Lanka
Members of the 15th Parliament of Sri Lanka
Members of the 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka
Chief Ministers of Uva Province
Samagi Jana Balawegaya politicians
United National Party politicians
1978 births
Living people
Alumni of Saint Joseph's College, Colombo
People from Uva Province
Telecommunication ministers of Sri Lanka
Sinhalese politicians
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