Vidura Wickremanayake (born 11 July 1959) is a Sri Lankan politician. He is the current Minister of Buddhashasana, Religious, and Cultural Affairs and

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 ...

. He is the son of the former Sri Lankan Prime Minister

Ratnasiri Wickremanayake Ratnasiri Wickremanayake ( si, රත්නසිරි වික්‍රමනායක, ta, ரத்னசிறி விக்கிரமநாயக்க; 5 May 1933 – 27 December 2016) was a Sri Lankan politician who was Prime Mi ...

Early life and education

Born to

and Kusum Wickremanayake, he 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 a BSc in Agriculture in the Philippines.

Political career

Wickremanayake was elected to parliament from

Kalutara Kalutara ( si, කළුතර, ta, களுத்துறை) or Kalutota is a major city in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is also the administrative capital of Kalutara District. It is located approximately south o ...

from 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� ...

in the 2015 parliamentary election and was appointed State Minister of Agriculture. He was re-elected in the 2020 parliamentary election from the Kalutara electorate with 147,958 preferential votes and was appointed State Minister of National Heritage, Rural Arts. Following the mass resignation of the Sri Lankan cabinet in the wake of the

2022 Sri Lankan protests The 2022 Sri Lankan protests ( si, අරගලය, translit=Aragalaya, lit=Struggle), are mass protests that began in March 2022 against the government of Sri Lanka. The government has been criticized for mismanaging the Sri Lankan economy, ...

, he was appointed as the

Minister of Labour Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

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 ...

on 18 April 2022..He left office following the resignation of Prime Minister

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 ...

and thereby the whole government. He was appointed to the position of Minister of Buddhashasana, Religious, and Cultural Affairs in the new Sri Lankan Cabinet by President

on May 20th, 2022.

References

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 Freedom Party politicians United People's Freedom Alliance politicians Living people Sinhalese politicians Alumni of Royal College, Colombo 1959 births {{WesternLK-politician-stub

Early life and education

Political career

See also

References