Sri Lanka - Head of Government

HE Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa was sworn into office as the fifth President of Sri Lanka on 19 November 2005.

Mr Rajapaksa is Chair of the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance led by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).

He had previously served as Prime Minister from April 2004 to November 2005 in the government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga. At the time, Mr Rajapaksa held the concurrent post of Minister of Highways.

Mr Rajapaksa was Leader of the Opposition from March 2002 to 2004. From 1994 to 2001, Mr Rajapaksa served as Minister of Labour and Vocational Training; Fisheries; and Ports and Shipping.

Along with his political career, Mr Rajapaksa had practised law in the southern town of Tangalle from 1977 to 1994 until his ministerial appointment in 1994.

Mr Rajapaksa entered politics in 1970 as a Member of Parliament of the SLFP. He lost his Parliamentary seat in 1977 during the landslide victory of the United National Party, but was re-elected in the general election in 1989. Mr Rajapaksa held this position until his appointment as Sri Lanka’s President in 2005. He was elected SLFP President in June 2006.

Mr Rajapaksa qualified as Attorney-at-Law in 1977 after graduating from the Colombo Law College.

Mr Rajapaksa was born on 18 November 1945 in Weeraketiya, Sri Lanka.