Tuesday saw the swearing-in of Harini Amarasuriya, a politician from Sri Lanka, as the country’s new prime minister, following the day that Anura Kumara Dissanayake became the ninth Executive President of the island nation.
Amarasuriya, a member of President Dissayanake’s National People’s Power (NPP) alliance, replaces Dinesh Gunawardena, who resigned from the position after Ranil Wickremesinghe’s failed reelection attempt in the presidential race.
Third place went to Wickremesinghe, who took power in July 2022, with opposition leader Sajith Premadasa coming in second.
The portfolios of Justice, Industries, Science and Technology, Health, and Investment have also been given to Aamarasuriya in the interim.
Harini Amarasuriya: who is she?
The NPP lawmaker, who was born on March 6, 1970, is the 16th prime minister of Sri Lanka and the third female prime minister (simimavo Bandarnaike and Chandrika Kumartunga, respectively).
In addition, she became the first female premier of the nation in over 25 years (Bandarnaike served a third and final term from November 1994 to August 2000). In 2020, she was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) on the NPP national ticket.
Her educational background includes a BA (Hons) in Sociology, an MA in App. Anthropology and Development Studies, and a PhD in Social Anthropology (all from the University of Edinburgh). She is an activist in addition to being an educational instructor.
According to the website of the Parliament, she was present for 269 days and absent for 120 days during the ninth Parliament of Sri Lanka (2020–2024).
Amarasuriya is also the first academician-turned-politician to become the prime minister in Sri Lanka.
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Source: HT
