Gunawardena was born into the political Gunawardena family on 2 March 1949.[2][3] His father, Philip Gunawardena, was known as "the Father of Sri Lankan socialism" and a key independence figure, and his mother, Kusumasiri Gunawardena, was a member of parliament. His aunt, Vivienne Goonewardene, was often considered the "foremost female figure in the Sri Lankan left".[3][4]
Gunawardena later married Ramani Wathsala Kotelawela.[8][9] They had one son, Yadamini, and one daughter, Sankapali.[4][9] Ramani died of undiagnosed hepatitis in the mid-1980s.[8]
Political career
1972–2000
After graduation from the University of Oregon, Gunawardena worked in New York City, but returned to Sri Lanka in 1972 after his father's death.[4] He was appointed to the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna's (MEP) central committee in August 1973, and became general-secretary of the MEP in 1974.[3]
On 27 August 2000, the MEP joined the People's Alliance (PA).[13] Gunawardena contested the 2000 parliamentary election as one of the PA's candidates in Colombo District. He was elected and re-entered Parliament.[14]
On 22 July 2022, Gunawardena was appointed as Prime Minister after former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned amidst the ongoing economic and political crises and Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected as his successor by Parliament. Gunawardena and Wickremesinghe were classmates during school days.[32]
^ ab(PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2011.
^ ab(PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 December 2009.
^ ab"Result of Parliamentary General Election 1989" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2009. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
^"PA aligns with hard-line Sinhala party". TamilNet. 27 August 2000.
^ ab"Parliamentary General Election 10.10.2000 - Trincomalee District". Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012.
^Weerawarne, Sumadhu (15 September 2001). "18 member Cabinet sworn in yesterday". The Island (Sri Lanka).
^"SLMC, EPDP get plum portfolios". TamilNet. 19 October 2000.
^ ab(PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2010.
^"SLFP-JVP alliance signed in Colombo". TamilNet. 20 January 2004.
^"Four Party Leaders sign pact with JVP-SLFP alliance". TamilNet. 2 February 2004.
^ ab(PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2010.
^(PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1335/24. 10 April 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 December 2014.
^(PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1482/08. 29 January 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2014.
^ ab(PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 May 2010.
^(PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1651/3. 26 April 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 May 2010.
^(PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1928/03. 19 August 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015.
dinesh, gunawardena, dinesh, chandra, rupasinghe, gunawardena, sinhala, චන, පස, ණවර, ධන, tamil, சந, பச, ணவர, தன, born, march, 1949, lankan, politician, serving, prime, minister, lanka, since, july, 2022, also, holds, positions, minister, public, administration. Dinesh Chandra Rupasinghe Gunawardena Sinhala ද න ෂ චන ද ර ර පස හ ග ණවර ධන Tamil த ன ஷ சந த ர ர பச ங க க ணவர தன born 2 March 1949 is a Sri Lankan politician serving as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka since 22 July 2022 He also holds the positions of Minister of Public Administration Home Affairs Provincial Councils and Local Government Gunawardena has been leader of the left wing Mahajana Eksath Peramuna MEP party since 1983 and has taken cabinet positions under several previous governments including Leader of the House from 2020 until 2022 Hon Dinesh GunawardenaMPද න ෂ ග ණවර ධන த ன ஷ க ணவர தனOfficial portrait 202215th Prime Minister of Sri LankaIncumbentAssumed office 22 July 2022PresidentRanil WickremesinghePreceded byRanil WickremesingheCabinet positionsMinister of Public Administration Home Affairs Provincial Councils and Local GovernmentIncumbentAssumed office 18 April 2022PresidentGotabaya Rajapaksa Ranil WickremesinghePrime MinisterMahinda RajapaksaRanil WickremesingheHimselfPreceded byJanaka Bandara TennakoonMinister of EducationIn office 16 August 2021 18 April 2022PresidentGotabaya RajapaksaPrime MinisterMahinda RajapaksaPreceded byG L PeirisSucceeded byRamesh Pathirana N 1 Minister of Foreign AffairsIn office 22 November 2019 16 August 2021PresidentGotabaya RajapaksaPrime MinisterMahinda RajapaksaPreceded byTilak MarapanaSucceeded byG L PeirisMinister of Water Supply and DrainageIn office April 2010 12 January 2015Preceded byA L M AthaullahSucceeded byRauff HakeemMinister of Urban Development and Water Supply a In office April 2004 April 2010Preceded byGamini AtukoraleSucceeded byMahinda RajapaksaDeputy Minister of Education of Sri LankaIn office April 2004 January 2007Succeeded byM SatchithanandanMinister of Transport of Sri Lanka b In office October 2000 December 2001Preceded bySrimani AthulathmudaliSucceeded byGamini AtukoraleParliamentary positionsLeader of the HouseIn office 20 August 2020 27 July 2022PresidentGotabaya RajapaksaPrime MinisterMahinda Rajapaksa Ranil Wickremesinghe HimselfPreceded byLakshman KiriellaSucceeded bySusil PremajayanthaChief Government WhipIn office 17 June 2008 20 January 2015Preceded byJeyaraj FernandopulleSucceeded byGayantha KarunathilakaPresident of Mahajana Eksath PeramunaIncumbentAssumed office 1972Preceded byPhilip GunawardenaMember of ParliamentIncumbentAssumed office 10 October 2000ConstituencyColomboIn office 18 May 1983 1 16 August 1994ConstituencyMaharagama 1983 1989 Colombo 1989 1994 Preceded byPremarathne GunasekeraPersonal detailsBorn 1949 03 02 2 March 1949 age 73 Colombo Dominion of CeylonPolitical partyMahajana Eksath PeramunaOther politicalaffiliationsSri Lanka People s Freedom AllianceAlma materRoyal College Colombo University of OregonOccupationTrade unionist Minister of Urban Development and Sacred Area Development from January 2007 to April 2010 Minister of Transport and Environment from September 2001 to December 2001 Born in a political family the son of Philip Gunawardena and Kusumasiri Gunawardena and nephew of Vivienne Goonewardene he was educated at Royal College Colombo and later at the University of Oregon where he advocated pacifism in the Vietnam War Entering politics in 1983 as a Member of Parliament from Maharagama and later Colombo his first role in government was as Minister of Transport under Ratnasiri Wickremanayake In 2022 Gunawardena was appointed as the Prime Minister after former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned amidst the ongoing economic crisis and Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected as his successor Contents 1 Early life and family 2 Political career 2 1 1972 2000 2 2 2000 2010 2 3 2010 present 3 Electoral history 4 Notes 5 Further reading 6 ReferencesEarly life and family EditGunawardena was born into the political Gunawardena family on 2 March 1949 2 3 His father Philip Gunawardena was known as the Father of Sri Lankan socialism and a key independence figure and his mother Kusumasiri Gunawardena was a member of parliament His aunt Vivienne Goonewardene was often considered the foremost female figure in the Sri Lankan left 3 4 Educated at Royal Primary School Colombo and Royal College Colombo he later studied at the Netherlands School of Business 5 6 7 3 4 He also graduated with a B B A from the University of Oregon and whilst in the United States became involved in student activism taking part in anti Vietnam War protests 3 Gunawardena later married Ramani Wathsala Kotelawela 8 9 They had one son Yadamini and one daughter Sankapali 4 9 Ramani died of undiagnosed hepatitis in the mid 1980s 8 Political career Edit1972 2000 Edit After graduation from the University of Oregon Gunawardena worked in New York City but returned to Sri Lanka in 1972 after his father s death 4 He was appointed to the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna s MEP central committee in August 1973 and became general secretary of the MEP in 1974 3 Gunawardena was the MEP s candidate in Avissawella at the 1977 parliamentary election but failed to get elected until he ran as the MEP s candidate in the Maharagama Electoral District at the 1983 by election winning and entering Parliament 10 11 During the 1989 parliamentary election Gunawardena successfully ran as one of the MEP s candidates in the multi member Colombo Electoral District 12 He was again one of the MEP s candidates in Colombo District at the 1994 parliamentary election but the MEP failed to win any seats in Parliament 2000 2010 Edit On 27 August 2000 the MEP joined the People s Alliance PA 13 Gunawardena contested the 2000 parliamentary election as one of the PA s candidates in Colombo District He was elected and re entered Parliament 14 Following the 2000 election he was appointed Minister of Transport and was given the additional portfolio of Environment in September 2001 15 16 He was re elected at the 2001 parliamentary election 17 On 20 January 2004 the Sri Lanka Freedom Party SLFP and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna JVP formed the United People s Freedom Alliance UPFA which the MEP joined on 2 February 2004 18 19 Gunawardena contested the 2004 parliamentary election as one of the UPFA s candidates in Colombo District He was elected and re entered Parliament 20 He was appointed Minister of Urban Development and Water Supply and Deputy Minister of Education after the election 21 22 In January 2007 his cabinet portfolio was changed to Minister of Urban Development and Sacred Area Development but he lost his deputy ministerial position 23 24 He was appointed Chief Government Whip in June 2008 25 2010 present Edit Gunawardena was re elected in the 2010 parliamentary election following which he was appointed Minister of Water Supply 26 27 28 He lost his cabinet position following the 2015 presidential election albeit being re elected 29 30 In March 2017 he was suspended from parliamentary sittings for one week due to repeatedly disrupting proceedings 31 On 22 July 2022 Gunawardena was appointed as Prime Minister after former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned amidst the ongoing economic and political crises and Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected as his successor by Parliament Gunawardena and Wickremesinghe were classmates during school days 32 Electoral history EditElectoral history of Dinesh Gunawardena Election Constituency Party Alliance Votes Result1977 parliamentary 10 Avissawella MEP 17 897 Not elected1983 parliamentary by 11 Maharagama MEP 27 054 Elected1989 parliamentary 12 Colombo District MEP 70 616 Elected1994 parliamentary Colombo District MEP Not elected2000 parliamentary 14 Colombo District MEP PA 114 795 Elected2001 parliamentary 17 Colombo District MEP PA 87 615 Elected2004 parliamentary 20 Colombo District MEP UPFA 82 626 Elected2010 parliamentary 26 Colombo District MEP UPFA 116 860 Elected2015 parliamentary 33 Colombo District MEP UPFA 124 451 Elected2020 parliamentary 34 Colombo District MEP SLPFA 85 287 ElectedNotes Edit As Minister of Education and Plantation IndustriesFurther reading EditD P Satish 6 January 2020 Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Whose Parents Were Jailed During India s Freedom Struggle to Visit Delhi News18 References Edit Moonsinghe Vinod 22 May 2020 The By Elections of 1983 Daily News Retrieved 21 July 2022 Directory of Members Dinesh Gunawardena Parliament of Sri Lanka a b c d e de Silva W P P Ferdinando T C L 9th Parliament of Sri Lanka PDF Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited p 233 Archived from the original PDF on 23 June 2015 a b c d Singaravelu Ananda Nihal 2 March 2009 Dinesh Turns Three Score Daily News Sri Lanka Joseph Dishan Loyal to Royal Sunday Observer Retrieved 3 May 2021 Royal College honours old Royalists in Parliament Daily News Sri Lanka 11 February 2002 Ranil s third stint as PM Sunday Observer Sri Lanka 11 January 2015 Archived from the original on 7 March 2016 a b Peiris Roshan 2 April 2000 The Boralugoda cub The Sunday Times Sri Lanka a b Minister Dinesh Gunawardena on Celeb Chat The Nation Sri Lanka 31 July 2011 a b Result of Parliamentary General Election 1977 PDF Department of Elections Sri Lanka Archived from the original PDF on 17 July 2011 a b Results of the Parliamentary By Elections Held Between 1947 1988 PDF Department of Elections Sri Lanka Archived from the original PDF on 9 December 2009 a b Result of Parliamentary General Election 1989 PDF Department of Elections Sri Lanka Archived from the original PDF on 4 March 2009 Retrieved 6 March 2016 PA aligns with hard line Sinhala party TamilNet 27 August 2000 a b Parliamentary General Election 10 10 2000 Trincomalee District Department of Elections Sri Lanka Archived from the original on 5 August 2012 Weerawarne Sumadhu 15 September 2001 18 member Cabinet sworn in yesterday The Island Sri Lanka SLMC EPDP get plum portfolios TamilNet 19 October 2000 a b General Election 2001 Preferences PDF Department of Elections Sri Lanka Archived from the original PDF on 4 March 2010 SLFP JVP alliance signed in Colombo TamilNet 20 January 2004 Four Party Leaders sign pact with JVP SLFP alliance TamilNet 2 February 2004 a b General Election 2004 Preferences PDF Department of Elections Sri Lanka Archived from the original PDF on 4 March 2010 PART I SECTION I GENERAL Appointments amp c by the President PDF The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary 1335 24 10 April 2004 Archived from the original PDF on 25 December 2014 The new UPFA Cabinet The Sunday Times Sri Lanka 11 April 2004 PART I SECTION I GENERAL Appointments amp c by the President PDF The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary 1482 08 29 January 2007 Archived from the original PDF on 22 February 2014 The New Cabinet The Island Sri Lanka 29 January 2007 Chief Government Whips Parliament of Sri Lanka a b Parliamentary General Election 2010 Colombo Preferences PDF Department of Elections Sri Lanka Archived from the original PDF on 13 May 2010 PART I SECTION I GENERAL Appointments amp c by the President PDF The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary 1651 3 26 April 2010 Archived from the original PDF on 24 May 2010 New Cabinet Ministers amp Deputy Ministers Daily News Sri Lanka 24 April 2010 PART I SECTION I GENERAL Government Notifications PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS ACT No 1 OF 1981 PDF The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary 1928 03 19 August 2015 Archived from the original PDF on 23 September 2015 Ranil tops with over 500 000 votes in Colombo The Daily Mirror Sri Lanka 19 August 2015 Dinesh Gunawardena suspended from Parliament for a week for unruly behavior Retrieved 9 March 2017 Dinesh Gunawardena Sri Lanka president s schoolmate to be next PM Report Hindustan Times News 21 April 2022 Jayakody Pradeep 28 August 2015 The Comparison of Preferential Votes in 2015 amp 2010 The Daily Mirror Sri Lanka District Results Colombo Final Parliamentary General Election 2020 Results Adaderana Retrieved 21 December 2020 Political officesPreceded bySrimani Athulathmudali Minister of Transport2000 2001 Succeeded byGamini AtukoralePreceded byGamini Atukorale Minister of Urban Development and Water Supply2004 2010 Succeeded byMahinda RajapaksaPreceded byA L M Athaullah Minister of Water Supply and Drainage2010 2015 Succeeded byRauff HakeemPreceded byTilak Marapana Minister of Foreign Affairs2019 2021 Succeeded byG L PeirisPreceded byG L Peiris Minister of Education2021 2022 Succeeded byRamesh PathiranaPreceded byJanaka Bandara Tennakoon Minister of Public Administration Home Affairs Provincial Councils and Local Government2022 present IncumbentPreceded byRanil Wickremesinghe Prime Minister of Sri Lanka2022 presentParliament of Sri LankaPreceded byJeyaraj Fernandopulle Chief Government Whip2008 2015 Succeeded byGayantha KarunathilakaPreceded byLakshman Kiriella Leader of the House2022 present IncumbentParty political officesPreceded byPhilip Gunawardena President of Mahajana Eksath Peramuna1972 present Incumbent Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dinesh Gunawardena amp oldid 1130632808, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
