Ranil Wickremesinghe
Ranil Wickremesinghe | |
|---|---|
| රනිල් වික්රමසිංහ
ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்க | |
Wickremesinghe in 2024 | |
| 9th President of Sri Lanka | |
| In office 21 July 2022 – 23 September 2024 Acting: 14–21 July 2022 | |
| Prime Minister | Dinesh Gunawardena |
| Preceded by | Gotabaya Rajapaksa |
| Succeeded by | Anura Kumara Dissanayake |
| 10th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka | |
| In office 12 May 2022 – 21 July 2022 | |
| President |
|
| Preceded by | Mahinda Rajapaksa |
| Succeeded by | Dinesh Gunawardena |
| In office 15 December 2018 – 21 November 2019 | |
| President | Maithripala Sirisena |
| Preceded by | Mahinda Rajapaksa |
| Succeeded by | Mahinda Rajapaksa |
| In office 9 January 2015 – 26 October 2018 | |
| President | Maithripala Sirisena |
| Preceded by | D. M. Jayaratne |
| Succeeded by | Mahinda Rajapaksa |
| In office 9 December 2001 – 6 April 2004 | |
| President | Chandrika Kumaratunga |
| Preceded by | Ratnasiri Wickremanayake |
| Succeeded by | Mahinda Rajapaksa |
| In office 7 May 1993 – 18 August 1994 | |
| President | Dingiri Banda Wijetunga |
| Preceded by | Dingiri Banda Wijetunga |
| Succeeded by | Chandrika Kumaratunga |
| 10th Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 22 April 2004 – 9 January 2015 | |
| Prime Minister |
|
| Preceded by | Mahinda Rajapaksa |
| Succeeded by | Nimal Siripala de Silva |
| In office 28 October 1994 – 10 October 2001 | |
| Prime Minister |
|
| Preceded by | Gamini Dissanayake |
| Succeeded by | Ratnasiri Wickremanayake |
| Ministerial roles | |
| 2022–2024 | Minister of Defence Minister of Technology Minister of Finance Ministry of Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment |
| 2015–2019 | Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs |
| 1989–1993 | Minister of Industry Leader of the House |
| 1980–1989 | Minister of Education |
| 1977–1980 | Minister of Youth Affairs & Employment |
| 1977 | Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs |
| Member of Parliament for National List | |
| In office 23 June 2021 – 21 July 2022 | |
| Member of Parliament for Colombo District | |
| In office 16 August 1994 – 3 March 2020 | |
| Member of Parliament for Gampaha District | |
| In office 15 February 1989 – 16 August 1994 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 March 1949 Colombo, Dominion of Ceylon |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Political party | United National Party |
| Other political affiliations | New Democratic Front (since 2024) |
| Spouse | |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | |
| Residence | 115 Fifth Lane |
| Alma mater | Royal College, Colombo University of Ceylon |
| Occupation | |
Ranil Wickremesinghe (Sinhala: රනිල් වික්රමසිංහ; Tamil: ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்க; born 24 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the ninth president of Sri Lanka from 2022 to 2024. He has also served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 1993–1994, 2001–2004, 2015–2018, 2018-2019 and in 2022. Wickremesinghe has held several ministerial roles, including Minister of Finance, Minister of Defence, Minister of Technology and Minister of Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment. Wickremesinghe has led the United National Party (UNP) since 1994.
Born into a political family, Wickremesinghe graduated from the University of Ceylon and qualified as a lawyer from the Ceylon Law College in 1972. He entered politics in the mid-1970s with the UNP, first being elected to Parliament in 1977. Over the years, he held various ministerial positions, including Minister of Foreign Affairs, Youth Affairs and Employment, and Industry, Science and Technology. He first became prime minister in 1993 following the assassination of President Ranasinghe Premadasa.
Wickremesinghe ran for president as the UNP candidate in 1999 and 2005, but was defeated both times. In 2015, he was appointed prime minister by president Maithripala Sirisena, leading a national unity government until 2019. During his tenure, he was controversially sacked by Sirisena in 2018, triggering a constitutional crisis, but was reappointed as prime minister after the Supreme Court declared his sacking as unconstitutional. He lost his parliamentary seat in 2020 but re-entered parliament in 2021 as a National List MP.
In May 2022, Wickremesinghe was appointed as prime minister by president Gotabaya Rajapaksa amidst the then-ongoing political crisis. Following Rajapaksa's resignation in July 2022, Wickremesinghe assumed the presidency in an acting capacity and was subsequently elected as the 9th President of Sri Lanka by parliament on 20 July 2022. He took office the following day. He attempted to run for a full term in his own right in 2024 but failed to win reelection, finishing in third place with 17.27% of the vote.