Dinesh Gunawardena took oath as Sri Lanka's new Prime Minister on Friday. Gunawardena's appointment came a day after Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the new President of the crisis-hit island nation. The rest of the cabinet is also expected to take oath on Friday.

The 73-year-old is a stalwart in the Sri Lankan politics. He is a leader from the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) or People's United Front. The MEP, a left-wing political party, was founded in 1959.

Dinesh Gunawardena earlier served as Sri Lanka's foreign minister and education minister. Gunawardena was appointed as home minister under former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's regime in April.

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Who is Dinesh Gunawardena?

Dinesh Chandra Rupasinghe Gunawardena was born on March 2, 1949. He is an alumnus of Royal College, Colombo, where Ranil Wickremesinghe also studied.

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Dinesh Gunawardena completed his studies in business economics from the Netherland School of Business (Nyenrode University). He also holds a diploma in international business from the University of Oregon, United States.

According to a Sri Lanka newspaper, Daily News, Dinesh's father Philip Rupasinghe Gunawardena was known as the Father of Sri Lankan socialism. Dinesh's mother Kusuma Gunawardena was the first and only woman Member of Parliament who returned uncontested to Parliament of Ceylon.

Political life

After Philip Gunawardena’s death, Dinesh Gunawardena returned to Sri Lanka to carry forward his father’s political legacy. He was elected to the MEP’s central committee in August 1973 and became its general secretary in 1974. He was elected in the 1983 by-election and became the Member of Parliament from Maharagama.

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His contribution

In a political career spanning over five decades, Dinesh Gunawardena has served in different roles as foreign minister, transport minister and minister for urban development.

As a minister of water supply, Dinesh Gunawardena established the Greater Kandy water scheme. He is also credited for the Kusum Nivasa project.

According to Sri Lankan media, Gunawardena is said to be closely associated with the Rajapaksa family.

First Published:Jul 22, 2022 4:23 PM IST