Ranil Wickremesinghe

Ranil Wickremesinghe, born on March twenty-four, nineteen forty-nine, is a prominent Sri Lankan politician and lawyer who has played a significant role in the country's political landscape. He served as the ninth president of Sri Lanka from 2022 to 2024 and has held the position of Prime Minister multiple times, specifically from nineteen ninety-three to nineteen ninety-four, two thousand one to two thousand four, two thousand fifteen to two thousand eighteen, two thousand eighteen to two thousand nineteen, and again in 2022.

Wickremesinghe's political journey began in the mid-seventies when he joined the United National Party (UNP), a party he has led since nineteen ninety-four. His early education at the University of Ceylon and subsequent qualification as a lawyer from the Ceylon Law College in nineteen seventy-two laid the foundation for his political career, which commenced with his election to Parliament in nineteen seventy-seven.

Throughout his career, he has held various ministerial roles, including Minister of Finance, Minister of Defence, and Minister of Technology. Notably, he first became Prime Minister in nineteen ninety-three following the tragic assassination of President Ranasinghe Premadasa. Despite facing electoral defeats in his presidential bids in nineteen ninety-nine and two thousand five, he was appointed Prime Minister again in two thousand fifteen, leading a national unity government until two thousand nineteen.

Wickremesinghe's political resilience was evident when he was controversially dismissed by President Maithripala Sirisena in two thousand eighteen, only to be reinstated by the Supreme Court. After losing his parliamentary seat in two thousand twenty, he made a comeback in two thousand twenty-one as a National List MP. His appointment as Prime Minister in May two thousand twenty-two amid a political crisis marked another pivotal moment in his career, leading to his election as president on July twentieth, two thousand twenty-two.

In his tenure as president, Wickremesinghe faced challenges and attempted to secure a full term in two thousand twenty-four but ultimately finished in third place with seventeen point twenty-seven percent of the vote.