Mahinda Nandimithra Ekanayake (born 26 December 1943 in Handala,

Wattala Wattala ( si, වත්තල, ta, வத்தளை) is a large suburb of Colombo city, in Western Province, Sri Lanka, situated around 9 km from Colombo city centre. This suburb is situated on A3 highway from Colombo to Negombo. Around W ...

) is a Sri Lankan politician.

Early career

Prior to entering politics in 1989, he held a number of positions with the Rural Development Department. At the age of 21, he worked as a rural development officer. He was ultimately promoted to district officer and subsequently served as the Chief Officer in charge of the Rural Development Training Center at

Nalanda Nalanda (, ) was a renowned ''mahavihara'' (Buddhist monastic university) in ancient Magadha (modern-day Bihar), India.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 ...

. During his time in the Rural Development Department, he became known as a writer and journalist. In 1984, Nandimithra joined the growing Sri Lanka Mahajana Party.

Political career

In 1989, after 23 years of government work, he entered politics. He was first elected to the parliament in 1989 as 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� ...

candidate in the Matale electorate. His first appointment was as the Minister of Forestry and Environment. After several years in that post, he took over political leadership of the Central Province as the Chief Minister. He was the deputy minister of higher education, and he pledged support to Opposition Common Candidate

Maithripala Sirisena Maithripala Yapa Sirisena ( si, පල්ලෙවත්‍ත ගමරාළලාගේ මෛත්‍රීපාල යාපා සිරිසේන; ta, பல்லேவத்த கமராளலாகே மைத்திரி� ...

at the 2015 presidential election. He is also an author and journalist who has written for many national newspapers and has written books on Buddhism.

References

* * * 1943 births Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to Myanmar Government ministers of Sri Lanka Chief Ministers of Central Province, Sri Lanka State ministers of Sri Lanka Local government and provincial councils ministers of Sri Lanka Living people Members of the 9th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 10th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 11th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 13th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 14th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the Central Provincial Council Sinhalese politicians Sri Lanka Freedom Party politicians Sri Lankan Buddhists United National Party politicians United People's Freedom Alliance politicians {{CentralLK-politician-stub