After thirty five years in existence The Liberal Party was renamed as The Liberal Democratic Party in June 19th of 2022, The first congress was held in 26th if July 2022. Present leader of the Party is Kamal Nissanka and Secretary General is Amal Randeniya The Liberal Party of Sri Lanka ( si, ලිබරල් පක්ෂය ''Libaral Pakshaya''; ta, லிபரல் கட்சி, translit=Liparal Kaṭci) began as a think-tank called the Council for Liberal Democracy, founded in 1981 by the late

Chanaka Amaratunga Chanaka Amaratunga (19 April 1958 – 1 August 1996) was the founder of the Liberal Party of Sri Lanka. Early life Schooled at St Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia where he was a prominent member of the Debating, Drama and Parliamentary societies ...

, a longstanding member of 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), ...

which was then in government. The CLD broke with the UNP in 1982 over the referendum which postponed parliamentary elections for six years and, after four years of trying to promote liberal thinking in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, in particular with regard to constitutional reforms that would promote

devolution Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories h ...

along with separation and reduction of powers at the center, Dr Amaratunga and several of his associates established the Liberal Party in February 1987. Though the Party never established itself as an electoral success, given the need in Sri Lanka for small parties to ally themselves with larger groupings that tend to swamp their individual identity, it has continued to have an impact as a think-tank. It contributed seminally to the manifestoes put forward by

Sirimavo Bandaranaike Sirima Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike ( si, සිරිමා රත්වත්තේ ඩයස් බණ්ඩාරනායක; ta, சிறிமா ரத்வத்தே டயஸ் பண்டாரநாயக்கே; 17 April 191 ...

and

Gamini Dissanayake Dissanayake Mudiyanse Ralahamilage Lionel Gamini Dissanayake, PC (known as Gamini Dissanayake; si, ලයනල් ගාමිණි දිසානායක, ta, காமினி திஸாநாயக்க; 20 March 1942 – 24 Octob ...

as presidential candidates in 1988 and in 1994. In 1996 Dr. Amaratunga died in a car accident, which led to a reduction in party activity since. However his successor

Rajiva Wijesinha Rajiva Wijesinha, MA, DPhil ( Sinhala: රජීව විජේසිංහ) (born 16 May 1954) is a Sri Lankan writer in English, distinguished for his political analysis as well as creative and critical work. An academic by profession for m ...

, contested in the Presidential election of 2000 and came 6th in a field of 15, a success that served to advance the image of the party. Mr. Kamal Nissanka is the current leader of the Liberal Party. The party is a member of

Liberal International Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberal political parties - a political international. It was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal parties, aiming to strengthen liberalism around ...

and the

Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats The Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) is a regional organization of liberal democratic political parties in Asia. Background The Council was created on 15 October 1993, in a meeting in Taipei, Taiwan. There are nine member partie ...

References

External links

official site
Liberal Lanka
Blog {{Authority control Political parties in Sri Lanka Liberal parties in Asia United People's Freedom Alliance 1987 establishments in Sri Lanka Political parties established in 1987

See also

References

External links