Ratnasiri Wickremanayake ( si, රත්නසිරි වික්‍රමනායක, ta, ரத்னசிறி விக்கிரமநாயக்க; 5 May 1933 – 27 December 2016) was a Sri Lankan politician who was Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2000 to 2001 and again from 2005 to 2010 and has served as Leader of the Opposition from 2001 to 2002 . He was a

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 o ...

representing

Horana Horana ( si, හොරණ, , ta, ஹொரணை) is a town in Kalutara District, in the Western Province of Sri Lanka. It is on the A8 highway between Panadura and Ratnapura, away from Ratnapura and away from Panadura. Horana is connected ...

electorate and later Kalutara District. Wickremanayake held many ministerial positions in the

Sri Lankan government The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය, Śrī Lankā Rajaya; ta, இலங்கை அரசாங்கம்) is a parliamentary system determined by the Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the isl ...

, beginning in 1970.

Early life

Wickremanayake was educated in Millewa Primary School,

Dharmapala Vidyalaya Dharmapala Vidyalaya, Pannipitiya, established in 1942 on land owned by Anagarika Dharmapala, is the largest mixed school in Sri Lanka with about 8000 students and 600 academic staff. It is a public school and provides primary and secondary educ ...

, Pannipitiya,

Hartley College Hartley College ( ta, ஹாட்லிக் கல்லூரி ''Hāṭlik Kallūri'') is a provincial school in Point Pedro, Sri Lanka. Founded in 1838 by British Methodist missionaries, it is one of Sri Lanka's oldest schools. The school i ...

, Point Pedro and Ananda College,

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

Alternative results
and later as a student joined Lincoln's Inn to become a Barrister of Law, but ultimately chose to enter politics rather than appear for the exam. During his time in United Kingdom he was elected president of the Ceylon Students' Association in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1955.

Early political career

Wickremanayake entered politics in 1960. He was elected to the legislature in 1960, from

for the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (then a part of the People's United Front alliance). Wickremanayake joined the SLFP in 1962. He was re-elected twice (in 1965 and 1970) to the legislature for

from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). Wickremanayake received his first ministerial appointment in 1970, when he was appointed Deputy Minister for Justice in the United Front government under Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike. In 1975, Wickremanayake was appointed Minister of Plantation Industries and the next year was also

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

. Wickremanayake lost his Parliamentary seat in the landslide defeat of the SLFP in the general elections of 1977. He became General Secretary of the SLFP in 1978. In the general elections of 1994, Wickremanayake won the Kalutara District seat and then became Minister of Public Administration, Home Affairs and Plantation Industries in the government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga.

Prime Minister and Opposition leadership

Wickremanayake first served as Prime Minister from August 2000 to December 2001, succeeding Sirimavo Bandaranaike, who resigned from the position at the age of 84. He was sworn into office on 13 October 2000. He escaped an assassination attempt by a suicide bomber during the 2001 election. He lost his premiership role in December 2001 when his party lost to the opposition party,

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), ...

, by taking 109 of the 225 Parliament seats. Wickremanayake was the senior vice-president of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). After the SLFP won the 2004 parliamentary elections, Wickremanayake was appointed Minister of

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

Affairs, Public Security, and Law and Order, and Deputy Minister for Defence. The source claims that Wickremanayake served his premiership from November 1999 to February 2001. He was sworn in for a second time as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka by President Mahinda Rajapaksa on 21 November 2005. During Presidency of

Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga ( si, චන්ද්‍රිකා බණ්ඩාරනායක කුමාරතුංග, ta, சந்திரிகா பண்டாரநாயக்க குமாரதுங்க; born 29 Ju ...

, he held the Public Administration, Home Affairs and Plantation Industries portfolios. His son Vidura Wickremanayake is also a Member of Parliament. During his first tenure as Prime Minister, he refused to consider talks with the LTTE separatist group, and renounced terrorism. He called for Sri Lanka's family planning policies to be modified, to encourage people to have more children. Wickremanayake was considered a

hardline In politics, hardline (or hard-line) is an adjective describing a stance on an issue that is inflexible and not subject to compromise. A hardliner is a person holding such views. The stance is usually far from the centrist view. People, policies, ...

opponent of Tamil separatists. He also opposed the present ceasefire arrangements at the time they were put in place. During his tenure as the Leader of the Opposition in 2002, Wickremanayake "openly supported unconditional dialogue with the LTTE." On 5 February 2010, he told the Parliament that his government offered the LTTE group amnesty in exchange for surrendering themselves, refused ceasefire appeals from international bodies, and "vowed to crush those who fight on."

Death

On 21 December 2016, Wickremanayake was admitted to a private hospital in

. He died on 27 December 2016 at the age of 83 due to an unspecified illness. He was serving as the Senior Advisor to President

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

at the time of his death.

References

External links