Achchige Don Susil Premajayantha (born 10 January 1955) 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, Cabinet Minister 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 ...
.
Education
Premajayantha received his primary and secondary education at
St. John's College, Nugegoda. After that he attended 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 received a Bachelor of Laws in 1982 and became an
Attorney at Law
Attorney at law or attorney-at-law, usually abbreviated in everyday speech to attorney, is the preferred term for a practising lawyer in certain jurisdictions, including South Africa (for certain lawyers), Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and the Unite ...
in 1984.
Later on in 2004 he also gained a
Masters in Public Administration
The Master of Public Administration (M.P.Adm., M.P.A., or MPA) is a specialized higher professional post graduate degree in public administration, similar/ equivalent to the Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of ...
from the
University of Sri Jayewardenepura
''Vijja Uppattam Setta''
, mottoeng = Among all that arise, knowledge is the greatest
, established =
, undergrad = 14,750
, postgrad = 3560
, administrative_staff = 3950
, cit ...
.
Political career
Premajayantha began his political career in 1991 being elected as the Deputy Chairman of Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte Urban Council.
In 1993 he was elected to the Western Provincial Council and was elected
Chief Minister
A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...
in 1995.
In 2000 he entered parliament for the first time from
Gampaha District
Gampaha District ( si, ගම්පහ දිස්ත්රික්කය ''gampaha distrikkaya'', ta, கம்பஹா மாவட்டம் ''Kampahā Māvaṭṭam'') is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administ ...
and became the
Minister of Education.
Even though the
People's Alliance was defeated in the
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
general elections, Premajayantha was elected back into the Parliament from
Colombo District
Colombo District ( si, කොළඹ දිස්ත්රික්කය ''kol̠am̆ba distrikkaya''; ta, கொழும்பு மாவட்டம் ''Koḻumpu Māvaṭṭam'') is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level ...
and held his seat in subsequent elections.
With the formation of the
United People's Freedom Alliance
The United People's Freedom Alliance (abbreviated UPFA; si, එක්සත් ජනතා නිදහස් සන්ධානය ''Eksath Janathā Nidahas Sandānaya''; ta, ஐக்கிய மக்கள் சுதந்திரக ...
in 2004, Premajayantha was made its inaugural General Secretary of the party.
When the
United People's Freedom Alliance
The United People's Freedom Alliance (abbreviated UPFA; si, එක්සත් ජනතා නිදහස් සන්ධානය ''Eksath Janathā Nidahas Sandānaya''; ta, ஐக்கிய மக்கள் சுதந்திரக ...
won the
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
general elections he was given the post of
Minister of Power and Energy When
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 ...
became President, he was again appointed
Minister of Education and after the
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 ...
general elections as the
Minister of Petroleum Industries and in a 2013 cabinet reshuffle he became the
Minister of Environment and Renewable Energy
On 25 August 2015, few days after general elections he resigned as the General Secretary of the
United People's Freedom Alliance
The United People's Freedom Alliance (abbreviated UPFA; si, එක්සත් ජනතා නිදහස් සන්ධානය ''Eksath Janathā Nidahas Sandānaya''; ta, ஐக்கிய மக்கள் சுதந்திரக ...
. Few days prior to the elections he was removed from the position by the party Chairman, President
Maithripala Sirisena
Maithripala Yapa Sirisena ( si, පල්ලෙවත්ත ගමරාළලාගේ මෛත්රීපාල යාපා සිරිසේන; ta, பல்லேவத்த கமராளலாகே மைத்திரி ...
. After 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 ...
and
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), ...
signed a Memorandum of Understanding to form a National unity government, Premajayantha became the
Minister of Technology and Research He was reappointed as the
Minister of Education on the 20th of May 2022 by President
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Lieutenant Colonel Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa ( si, නන්දසේන ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ; ta, நந்தசேன கோட்டாபய ராஜபக்ஷ; born 20 June 1949) is a former Sri Lankan militar ...
and again by President
Ranil Wickramasinghe
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 ...
on the 23th of July 2022.
See also
*
Cabinet of Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka, the Cabinet of Ministers is the council of ministers that form the central government of Sri Lanka. The body of senior ministers responsible and answerable to the Parliament of Sri Lanka. The President is a member of the cabinet ...
Notes
References
External links
Living people
Provincial councillors of Sri Lanka
Alumni of St. John's College, Nugegoda
Chief Ministers of Western Province, Sri Lanka
Members of the 11th Parliament of Sri Lanka
Members of the 12th 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
1955 births
Power ministers of Sri Lanka
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