Unnanthi Piyankara Jayaratne, MP (born September 27, 1964) is a

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 ...

n politician and a member of the

Parliament of Sri Lanka The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා පාර්ලිමේන්තුව ''Shri Lanka Parlimenthuwa'', Tamil: இலங்கை நாடாளுமன்றம் ''Ila� ...

Early life and education

Born to

S. D. R. Jayaratne Silva Dedinuni Robert Jayaratne (1931 - 2011) was a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the Deputy minister (Sri Lanka), Deputy Minister of Fisheries and was a Member of Parliament (Sri Lanka), Member of Parliament from the Chilaw Electoral Distric ...

, a former

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

from

Chilaw Chilaw ( si, හලාවත, translit=Halāvata, ta, சிலாபம், translit=Cilāpam) is a large town in Puttalam District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is governed by an urban council. The town is located 80 kilometres away f ...

and Deputy Minister of Fisheries. Jayaratne was educated at

Royal College Colombo Royal College, Colombo is a selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in Janua ...

and gained his higher education at the National Institute of Business Management.

Political career

He was the General Secretary 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� ...

Youth Organisation and a member of the

Wayamba North Western Province ( si, වයඹ පළාත ''Wayamba Paḷāta'', ta, வட மேல் மாகாணம் ''Vada Mael Mākāṇam'') is a province of Sri Lanka. The province consists of the districts of Kurunegala and Puttalam. It ...

provincial council from 1993 to 1998. He was then appointed SLFP organiser for the Puttalam Electorate in 1998- a position he holds to this day. Jayaratne was Minister of Fisheries, Agriculture and Irrigation of the North Western Provincial Council from 1998 to 2000. He was elected to

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in the 2000 parliamentary elections, and was appointed Deputy Minister of Youth Affairs till 2001. He was not reelected in 2004 but, upon the death of D. M. Dassanayake, was appointed MP for the Puttalam electorate in February 2008. Jayaratne was then appointed Deputy Speaker of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

on 8 July 2008, and held the position for three terms until 22 November 2010, through his re-election in 2010. He was then given the portfolio of the Ministry of Civil Aviation under the second

Mahinda Rajapakse 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 ...

government. In 2015, he was deputised to the ministries of Law and Order and Southern Development and Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs as State Minister for Law & Order and Prison Reforms. He was then appointed State Minister for Provincial Councils and Local Government, a position he resigned from at the end of December 2016

Controversy

Jayaratne has been the subject of several investigations for corruption. In October 2015, he was summoned to appear before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into serious acts of Fraud, Corruption and Abuse of Power in an investigation into alleged financial fraud at SriLankan Catering, the catering arm of the national carrier,

SriLankan Airlines SriLankan Airlines (formerly known as Air Lanka) is the flag carrier of Sri Lanka and a member airline of the Oneworld airline alliance. It is currently the largest airline in Sri Lanka by number of aircraft and destinations and was launched i ...

. In 2017, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption filed charges with the Colombo Chief Magistrate Court against Jayaratne, citing abuse of power and -state funds through the unlawful appointment of his private secretary, B. Dayawansha, as an officer at the

Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka The Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAASL) ( Sinhala: සිවිල් ගුවන්සේවා අධිකාරිය ''Sivil Guwanseva Adhikariya'') oversees the government approval and regulation of civil aviation matters for the na ...

and providing him with a salary and benefits using state funds. He and Dayawansha were later arrested, then released on bail on 21 August 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jayaratne, Piyankara Living people 1949 births Government ministers of Sri Lanka Alumni of Royal College, Colombo 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 15th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna politicians Members of the North Western Provincial Council Sri Lanka Freedom Party politicians United People's Freedom Alliance politicians Deputy speakers and chairmen of committees of the Parliament of Sri Lanka Sinhalese politicians

Early life and education

Political career

Controversy

See also

References