Mahinda Rajapaksa information

Hon.^[1]
Mahinda Rajapaksa
Hon. Mahinda Rajapaksa
මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ; மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ
	Rajapaksa in 2018
6th President of Sri Lanka
	In office; 19 November 2005 – 9 January 2015
Prime Minister	Ratnasiri Wickremanayake; D. M. Jayaratne
Preceded by	Chandrika Kumaratunga
Succeeded by	Maithripala Sirisena
13th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
	In office; 21 November 2019 – 9 May 2022
President	Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Preceded by	Ranil Wickremesinghe
Succeeded by	Ranil Wickremesinghe
	In office; 26 October 2018 – 15 December 2018
President	Maithripala Sirisena
Preceded by	Ranil Wickremesinghe
Succeeded by	Ranil Wickremesinghe
	In office; 6 April 2004 – 19 November 2005
President	Chandrika Kumaratunga
Preceded by	Ranil Wickremesinghe
Succeeded by	Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
12th Leader of the Opposition
	In office; 18 December 2018 – 21 November 2019
President	Maithripala Sirisena
Prime Minister	Ranil Wickremesinghe
Preceded by	R. Sampanthan
Succeeded by	Sajith Premadasa
	In office; 6 February 2002 – 2 April 2004
President	Chandrika Kumaratunga
Prime Minister	Ranil Wickremesinghe
Preceded by	Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
Succeeded by	Ranil Wickremesinghe
President	In office; 22 November 2019 – 8 July 2021
Cabinet posts
Minister of Finance of Sri Lanka
	In office; 22 November 2019 – 8 July 2021
President	Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Preceded by	Mangala Samaraweera
Succeeded by	Basil Rajapaksa
	In office; 23 November 2005 – 9 January 2015
President	Himself
Preceded by	Sarath Amunugama
Succeeded by	Ravi Karunanayake
Minister of Defence and Urban Development
	In office; 19 November 2005 – 8 January 2015
President	Himself
Preceded by	Tilak Marapana
Succeeded by	Maithripala Sirisena
Minister of Highways, Ports & Shipping
	In office; 23 April 2010 – 8 January 2015
President	Himself
Preceded by	Mangala Samaraweera
Succeeded by	Kabir Hashim
	In office; 22 April 2004 – 19 November 2005
President	Chandrika Kumaratunga
Preceded by	Jeyaraj Fernandopulle
Succeeded by	Mangala Samaraweera
Minister of Law and Order
	In office; 26 August 2013 – 8 January 2015
President	Himself
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	John Amaratunga
Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development
	In office; 1997 – 14 September 2001
President	Chandrika Kumaratunga
Preceded by	Indika Gunawardena
Succeeded by	Mahinda Wijesekara
Minister of Labour and Vocational Training
	In office; 19 August 1994 – 1997
President	D. B. Wijetunga; Chandrika Kumaratunga
Preceded by	D. B. Wijetunga
Succeeded by	Alavi Moulana
Preceded by	Incumbent
Constituencies
Member of Parliament; for Kurunegala
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 17 August 2015
Member of Parliament; for Hambantota
	In office; 15 February 1989 – 19 November 2005
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Nirupama Rajapaksa
Member of Parliament; for Beliatta
	In office; 27 May 1970 – 21 July 1977
Preceded by	D.P. Atapattu
Succeeded by	Ranjit Atapattu
Personal details
Born	Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945 (age 78); Weeraketiya, Southern Province, British Ceylon; (now Sri Lanka)
Political party	Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (after 2018)
Other political; affiliations	Sri Lanka Freedom Party (before 2018)
Spouse(s)	Shiranthi Rajapaksa; (née Wickremesinghe)
Children	Namal; Yoshitha; Rohitha
Relatives	Chamal (brother); Gotabaya (brother); Basil (brother);
Residence(s)	Carlton House, Tangalle; Medamulana Walawwa
Alma mater	Sri Lanka Law College
Profession	Attorney
Website	Official website

Mahinda Rajapaksa (Sinhala: මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ; Tamil: மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015; the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2005, 2018, and 2019 to 2022;^[2] the Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2004 and 2018 to 2019, and the Minister of Finance from 2005 to 2015 and 2019 to 2021. He has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for Kurunegala since 2015.^[3]

Rajapaksa is a lawyer by profession and was first elected to the Parliament of Sri Lanka in 1970. He served as the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party from 2005 to 2015. Rajapaksa was sworn in for his first six-year term as president on 19 November 2005. He was subsequently re-elected in 2010 for a second term.^[4] Rajapaksa was defeated in his bid for a third term in the 2015 presidential election by Maithripala Sirisena, and he left office on 9 January 2015. Later that year, Rajapaksa unsuccessfully sought to become prime minister in the 2015 parliamentary election; that year, the United People's Freedom Alliance was defeated but was elected as the Member of Parliament for the Kurunegala District.^[5]

On 26 October 2018, Rajapaksa was appointed to the office of prime minister by President Maithripala Sirisena after the United People's Freedom Alliance withdrew from the unity government. The incumbent, Ranil Wickremesinghe, refused to accept his dismissal, stating that it was unconstitutional. This disagreement resulted in a constitutional crisis. The Sri Lankan Parliament passed two no-confidence motions brought against Rajapaksa on 14 and 16 November 2018. Failing to follow proper procedures, President Sirisena rejected both. On 3 December 2018, a court suspended Rajapaksa's powers as prime minister, ruling that his cabinet could not function until establishing its legitimacy. Rajapaksa resigned from the post of prime minister on 15 December 2018. Wickremesinghe was re-appointed as prime minister, and Rajapaksa was appointed Leader of the Opposition.^[6]

Rajapaksa became the leader of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna in 2019, splitting the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. He became prime minister again on 21 November 2019 after being appointed by his brother, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who had become president on 18 November after winning the 2019 Sri Lankan presidential election. On 9 August 2020, Rajapaksa was sworn in as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka for the fourth time at a Buddhist temple on Colombo's outskirts. On 3 May 2022, a motion of no confidence aimed at Rajapaksa and his cabinet was declared by opposition leaders.^[7] He was targeted during the 2022 Sri Lankan protests over the corruption and mismanagement by the Rajapaksa family which led to an economic crisis that brought Sri Lanka to the point of bankruptcy as it defaulted on its loans for the first time in its history since independence. Protesters called him "Myna" and demanded his resignation which he resisted. On 9 May 2022, Mahinda Rajapaksa organised his supporters at his official residence who were brought by buses and led by SLPP MPs. The loyalists then attacked protestors at Temple Trees before assaulting protestors at Galle Face as attacks were carried out simultaneously against protests in other areas; however this intensified protests and retaliatory violence against Rajapaksa loyalists erupted islandwide and Mahinda Rajapaksa submitted his letter of resignation the same day.^[2]^[8]

During Rajapaksa's political career, he has been accused of multiple crimes including war crimes during the last years of the Sri Lankan civil war as well as other criminal accusations including human rights violations during his presidency, corruption and for instigating violence on anti-government protestors on 9 May 2022.^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12] As of 2023 he has been sanctioned by Canada for human rights violations.^[13]

^ "Hon. Mahinda Rajapaksa, M.P." parliament.lk. Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns". NewsWire. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
^ "Proud leader who defended the motherland". Silumina. 13 November 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
^ https://www.google.com/s/www.thehindu.com/news/international/Rajapaksarsquos-second-term-starts-in-November-2010-Supreme-Court/article16811954.ece/amp/ ^{[dead link]}
^ Cite error: The named reference PM defeated was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Sri Lanka's PM resigns in effort to ease constitutional crisis". the Guardian. 15 December 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
^ "Sri Lanka opposition declares no confidence in government". ABC News. 3 May 2022.
^ "More violence reported around the country : Over 100 injured". NewsWire. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
^ "Reject The UN War Crimes Report: Mahinda Rajapaksa Tells Govt". Colombo Telegraph. 22 September 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
^ "Mahinda Rajapaksa: Sri Lanka's saviour or war criminal?". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
^ "'May 9' violence in Sri Lanka: Former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa questioned by CID". The Hindu. 26 May 2022. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
^ "Suspected Architect of Sri Lanka War Crimes is UN's 'Chief Guest'". Human Rights Watch. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
^ "Canada sanctions Mahinda, Gota". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 10 January 2023.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

[1] "Hon. Mahinda Rajapaksa, M.P." parliament.lk. Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 15 July 2022.

[auto-3] "Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns". NewsWire. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.

[4] "Proud leader who defended the motherland". Silumina. 13 November 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2021.

[5] ttps://www.google.com/s/www.thehindu.com/news/international/Rajapaksarsquos-second-term-starts-in-November-2010-Supreme-Court/article16811954.ece/amp/ ^{[dead link]}

[PM_defeated-6] Cite error: The named reference PM defeated was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[7] "Sri Lanka's PM resigns in effort to ease constitutional crisis". the Guardian. 15 December 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2022.

[ABCNews2022-8] "Sri Lanka opposition declares no confidence in government". ABC News. 3 May 2022.

[9] "More violence reported around the country : Over 100 injured". NewsWire. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.

[10] "Reject The UN War Crimes Report: Mahinda Rajapaksa Tells Govt". Colombo Telegraph. 22 September 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2022.

[11] "Mahinda Rajapaksa: Sri Lanka's saviour or war criminal?". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 May 2022.

[12] "'May 9' violence in Sri Lanka: Former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa questioned by CID". The Hindu. 26 May 2022. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 26 May 2022.

[13] "Suspected Architect of Sri Lanka War Crimes is UN's 'Chief Guest'". Human Rights Watch. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2022.

[14] "Canada sanctions Mahinda, Gota". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 10 January 2023.

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