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The Honourable
Ranil Wickremesinghe MP |
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 Ranil Wickremesinghe |
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| In office May 7, 1993 – August 19, 1994 |
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| Preceded by | D.B. Wijetunga |
| Succeeded by | Chandrika Kumaratunga |
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| In office December 9, 2001 – April 6, 2004 |
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| Preceded by | Ratnasiri Wickremanayake |
| Succeeded by | Mahinda Rajapakse |
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Member of Parliament
for Colombo District |
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| Assumed office 1977 |
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| Born | March 24, 1949 Sri Lanka |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Political party | United National Party |
| Spouse | Dr Maitree Wickramasinghe |
| Alma mater | University of Ceylon, Royal College, Colombo |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Religion | Buddhist |
Ranil Wickremesinghe, MP (born March 24, 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician and current Leader of the Opposition. He was Prime Minister of Sri Lanka twice, from May 7, 1993 to August 19, 1994 and from December 9, 2001 to April 6, 2004. A member of the United National Party he was appointed as party leader in November 1994.
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Antecedents
Wickremesinghe's father was the press baron Esmond Wickremesinghe, an ex-Samasamajist[1] and supremo of the Lake House group of newspapers[2]. His paternal uncle Lakshman Wickremasinghe was a Bishop of the Church of Sri Lanka[3]. His maternal line consisted of newspaper barons and landowners, the Wijewardenas, who were Sinhala Buddhists. His maternal grandfather was D. R. Wijewardena, the founder of the Lake House publishing empire a pro-independence activist and a financier of the independence movement. He was a nephew of J.R. Jayewardene, later President of Sri Lanka.
Education
Wickremesinghe was educated at Royal College, Colombo where he was a classmate and a good friend of Anura Bandaranaike, son of then Prime Minister Solomon Bandaranaike and Dinesh Gunawardena, son of socialist leader Philip Gunawardena. Wickremesinghe entering the Faculty of Law at the University of Ceylon, Colombo campus (now University of Colombo). After graduation he completed the law exams at the Sri Lanka Law College and took oaths as an attorney-at-law. Of all the Presidents and Prime Ministers of Sri Lanka, Wickremesinghe is the only person to graduate from a local university, the remainder either not attending university or having degrees from foreign universities.[3]
Political career
Wickremesinghe joined the United National Party (UNP) and progressed through its ranks. He was appointed as the chief organizer of the Kelaniya Parliamentary seat in the mid 1970s but was later appointed as the chief organizer of the Biyagama seat, which he won in the 1977 parliamentary elections.
Youngest cabinet minister
He was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in the new government of J. R. Jayawardene, and was soon promoted to the post of Minister of Youth Affairs and Employment, which made him the youngest cabinet minister of Sri Lanka[3]. During his term as deputy minister, he created the Sri Lanka National Guard and the National Youth Services Council (NYSCO), which provides vocational and career training to school leavers. Wickramasinghe was later made the Minister of Education.
Prime minister (1993–1994)
Under the Presidency of Ranasinghe Premadasa, Wickremesinghe was appointed as the Minister of Industry, under which he initiated industrial reforms and established the Biyagama Special Economic Zone. Wickramasinghe had competition from his intellectual colleagues Lalith Athulathmudali and Gamini Dissanayake, who had been rivals of President Premadasa. He was appointed the Leader of the House in 1989. On May 7, 1993 Wickramasinghe was sworn in as Prime Minister after President Ranasinghe Premadasa was assassinated by the Tamil Tigers, and Prime Minister D. B. Wijethunge was appointed acting president.
During his term he was credited for pushing the country through an impressive economic transformation and was generally backed by the business community. [4]
Opposition (1994–2001)
In the 1994 parliamentary elections, the UNP lost to Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga's People's Alliance (PA), and Kumaratunga was appointed Prime Minister of the country. Wickremesinghe was defeated in the race to be Opposition Leader by two votes by fellow UNP member Gamini Dissanayake, who just re-joined the party. This gave Gamini Dissanayake the default leadership of the party and made him the presidential nominee of the UNP. The UNP was doing well under Gamini Dissanayake, when he too was assassinated by the Tamil Tigers. Gamini Dissanayake's widowed wife Srima replaced him as candidate of the UNP and secured 35% of the vote, losing to Chandrika Kumaratunga in all the parliamentary seats in Sri Lanka apart from Mahiyangana. Afterward Wickramasinghe was appointed as the opposition leader as well as the UNP leader.
Wickremesinghe was seen as a co-operative opposition leader who gave the government a chance to carry out its agenda in its early days[4]. In 1999 Wickramasinghe was nominated as the candidate from the UNP.
After a tense election campaign in the wake of the violent North Western Provincial Council election, President Kumaratunga was attacked by the Tamil Tigers in a suicide bombing attempt in which she lost her right eye. In the election held two days later on December 21, 1999, amidst a wave of sympathy, Kumaratunga received 51% of the total votes to be re-elected for her second and final term[4]. The gap between Wickramasinghe and Kumaratunga was approximately 700,000 votes (6% of the valid votes). Kumaratunga was sworn in for her second term as President on December 22, 1999.
After the loss of the 1999 presidential elections, Wickremesinghe unsuccessfully led his party in the 2000 parliamentary elections, again losing out to the PA.
Prime minister (2001–2004)
In 2001, Sri Lanka underwent severe losses in the warfront and the economy registered a -1% growth rate, the first ever negative growth in the country's history. By the end of the year, some members of the PA government led by S. B. Dissanayake, a senior Minister of the PA government, and Deputy Finance Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris left the PA to join the UNP thus destabilizing the Parliamentary composition which forced Kumaratunga to call for fresh elections. The United National Front (UNF), formed with the PA dissidents, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and the Ceylon Workers' Congress assumed power in the 2001 Parliamentary Elections held on December 10. Wickramasinghe's UNP won all but 6 of the 22 Electoral Districts in Sri Lanka. Thus Ranil Wickramasinghe took oaths as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka for the second time.
Three months after the elections, in an act that would define his premiership, Wickramasinghe signed a ceasefire agreement with the LTTE rebels and started peace talks with them, in hopes of ending the 20 year conflict in the island. This resulted in a visible development of the country. The civil war came to a halt; the North and South of the island was linked after decades and millions of people benefited as a result. During Wickramasinghe's term as Prime Minister, he also re-energized the economy to reach an economic growth rate of 6% and managed to keep the inflation down, at 2% - the country's lowest. His liberal economic policies stabilized the national economy. He also developed many international ties setup by him during his time in the Opposition. Sri Lanka underwent huge social changes during this period due to the ceasefire which made the country much accessible and open. The tigers however abruptly withdrew from the peace process in early 2003.[5]
By November 2003 the LTTE showed willingness to reenter the peace talks by proposing an Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA). President Kumaratunga quickly shook off these proposals and assumed the Defense, Interior, and Media Ministries - which cut short the powers of the UNP regime[6]. Soon President Kumaratunga's PA allied with radical socialist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna to form the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and Kumaratunga dissolved Parliament to call for new elections, through Ranil Wickramasinghe had the majority in Parliament and general elections not due for 3 years. President Kumaratunga would later concede that this was a mistake.[7]
Opposition (2004-present)
In the 2004 Parliamentary Elections held on April 02 Ranil Wickremesinghe's UNF lost governmental office. This left Wickramasinghe and his party a lot to think about and within such a small time they rebuilt the grassroots of the party and strengthened its position as the largest political party of Sri Lanka[8]. Within 14 months of the assumption to power of the UPFA the radical JVP wing left the government destabilizing the government which has over 30 Parliamentarians short of the required majority.
Presidential Election 2005
In December 2004 Wickremesinghe was chosen by the United National Party as its Presidential candidate for Presidential Elections due in late 2005. The Supreme Court decided in August 2005 that the elections should be held this year despite the President's argument that her term ends in 2006. Mahinda Rajapaksa, then Prime Minister, was nominated as the Presidential candidate of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party.
In the Presidential Election held on November 17, 2005, Wickremesinghe was defeated narrowly by Mahinda Rajapaksa, who gaining 50.29% of the vote to Wickramasinghe's 48.43%. A large number of the minority Tamil population in the Northern and Eastern parts of the country, who were largely expected to back Wickramasinghe, were prevented from voting by the LTTE, which had called for a boycott of the polls. There were also allegations by his party that people in the suburbs of major cities such as Colombo and Kandy, who were more educated and liberal and likely to vote for the UNP, were deliberately disenfranchised by pro-Rajapakse government officials by striking their names off the electoral register. The it has been claimed that the number was close to 100,000[9].
Dissent within the party and provincial elections (2008 - 2009)
Following the controversy that resulted in the rejection of the UNP list of candidates for the Colombo Municipal Council election in 2006, that lead to the UNP losing control over the Council after 50 years, prompted several senior members in the party to challenge Wickremesinghe's leadership and demanded his resignation as party leader. This group lead was by MPs such as G. L. Peiris, who had crossed over to the UNP in 2001 from the then PA, and was sported by several other senior UNP members Milinda Moragoda, Gamini Lokuge. This group pushed to have Wickremesinghe replaced by the deputy party leader Karu Jayasuriya[10]. However this bid fell thought due to the lack of support from the majority of the party seniors.[11]
In 2007, excepting an offer from president Mahinda Rajapaksa, Wickremesinghe established an accord with the government pledging the UNPs support for the government[12]. However shortly afterwards, 17 of the UNP's 60 members in parliament that included the group who had challenge Wickremesinghe's leadership, lead by deputy leader Karu Jayasuriya crossed over to the governing UPFA ranks in parliament and were given ministerial appointments. Naming themselves the UNP Democratic Faction, they stated the reason as the fact that Ranil Wickremesinghe did not step down as leader of the UNP.[13] Karu Jayasuriya himself becoming the Minister of Public Administration, losing the deputy leadership of the UNP in the process. However in late 2008, Jayasuriya crossed over once again to the opposition and was given back the deputy leader post.
Following this, provincial council elections were held in the Eastern, North Central, Sabaragamuwa, North Western and Central province of which the UNP lost to UPFA and its coalition partners that included the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal and the Jathika Hela Urumaya.
In February 2008, a majority of the UNP's parliamentary group is reportedly pressuring him once again to withdraw from the party leadership to an advisory position.[14]. In March the UNP working committee decided to create a new post of Senior Leader of the party and appointed Wickremasinghe to the post, it is yet to be incorporation into the party constitution at a general convention of the party. This was amid discussion with the UNP's parliamentary group about the need for the Wickremasinghe to relinquish his post (of party leader) so that a new leader could be appointed[15][16]. However late March the party working committee decided the he should remain as the party leader[17].
Family
He married Dr Maitree Wickramasinghe,[18] a Senior Lecturer of the Department of English at the University of Kelaniya.[19] She is the only child of the late Senevi B. Wickremasinghe and Shiranee Wickremasinghe (nee Bandaratilaka) of Nawala, Koswatte.
Affiliations
He is a member of Mont Pelerin Society. The society held a special meeting in Sri Lanka in year 2004 under his influence, when he was Prime Minister.[20]
Notes
- ^ Regi Siriwardena dies at 82
- ^ Prime Minister Ranil Wickrmesinghe: A social democrat with a vision and a mission, by N. Manoharan
- ^ a b c Former prime ministers
- ^ a b c Profile: Ranil Wickramasinghe, BBC
- ^ Sri Lanka: A Fractured Mandate
- ^ A crisis in Sri Lanka, V.S. SAMBANDAN, The Hindu
- ^ committed 'three' mistakes as Lanka prez: Kumaratunga
- ^ Sri Lanka elections : Win for Opposition UNP
- ^ Was it free and fair?, By Chrishanthi Christopher
- ^ Govt. UNP in political pickle
- ^ UNP crisis deepens
- ^ MoU in danger of collapse
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ UNP to create post of Senior Leader
- ^ Wickremesinghe refuses to budge
- ^ Ranil retained as Leader
- ^ Maithree Wickramasinghe, Faculty of Humanities/Department of English, University Of Kalaniya
- ^ Academic Staff of the Department of English, University Of Kalaniya
- ^ Mont Pelerin Society-Past meetings
See also
External links
- The Wickremasinghe Ancestry
- The Wijewardene Ancestry
- Hon.Ranil Wickremasinghe's Father
- Website of the Parliament of Sri Lanka
- Ranil Wickramasinghe's Web Site
- United National Party website
- "Ranil Wickramasinghe: consistency is his forte"
- BBC Profile
- Ranil re-elected as Asia-Pacific Vice Chairman of IDU
Further reading
- Ranil Wickramasinghe (2005), Desapalanaya saha dharmaya, Publisher: Nugeegoda Sarasavi Prakasanayo, ISBN 955-57337-8-3
- Jayaratna, A. E. (2005), Ranil Wickramasinghe: Darshanaya Saha Saame Mawatha, ISBN 955-96841-2-4
| Government offices | ||
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| Preceded by Ratnasiri Wickremanayake |
Prime Minister of Sri Lanka 2001–2004 |
Succeeded by Mahinda Rajapaksa |
| Preceded by Dingiri Banda Wijetunge |
Prime Minister of Sri Lanka 1993–1994 |
Succeeded by Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga |
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