The Rajapaksa family (Sinhala: රාජපක්ෂ, romanized: Rājapakṣa) is a Sri Lankan family that is prominent in politics. It was one of Sri Lanka's most powerful families during Mahinda Rajapaksa's presidency,[1] when many members of the family occupied senior positions in the Sri Lankan state.[2][3] As their political power grew, there were reports suggesting that the country was heading towards autocracy under their rule.[4][5] Following the unexpected defeat of Mahinda Rajapaksa in the 2015 presidential election, they have been accused of authoritarianism, corruption, nepotism and bad governance.[6] In the 2019 presidential election, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the brother of Mahinda Rajapaksa, ran and won.[7] The popularity of the Rajapaksa family collapsed after their actions caused the economic crisis that started in 2019, resulting in Sri Lanka defaulting on its debt for the first time in its post-independence history within just 30 months of coming to power.[8] The extended Rajapaksa family is believed to have amassed a large amount of wealth and while the amount of and scale is unknown several members of the family have been revealed in international investigations such as the Pandora Papers to be using networks of shell companies and trusts to hide their wealth in offshore tax havens which has led to accusations of Rajapaksas turning Sri Lanka into a Kleptocracy[9][2]
^Perera, Amantha (28 April 2010). "The Long Reach of Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa Dynasty". Time. Archived from the original on 30 April 2010.
^ abChu, Henry (25 August 2007). "Ruling Sri Lanka is a family affair". Los Angeles Times.
^"Sri Lanka". Freedom in the World 2012. Freedom House.
^"Sri Lanka votes for Sirisena: What went wrong from Rajapaksa". The Economist Times. 11 January 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
^"Sri Lanka needs a true human being, not a king – Maithripala". adaderana.lk. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
^"Sirisena dethrones Rajapaksa in Sri Lanka". Khaleej Times. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
^"Gotabaya Rajapaksa sworn in as Sri Lanka's new president". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
^"A Powerful Dynasty Bankrupted Sri Lanka in Just 30 Months". Bloomberg.com. 27 April 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
^"As Sri Lanka's ruling Rajapaksas flee, Pandora Papers reveal ties to UAE properties - ICIJ". International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
The Rajapaksafamily (Sinhala: රාජපක්ෂ, romanized: Rājapakṣa) is a Sri Lankan family that is prominent in politics. It was one of Sri Lanka's most powerful...
Mahinda Rajapaksa (Sinhala: මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ; Tamil: மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served...
President Mahinda Rajapaksa, during the final phase of the Sri Lankan Civil War. Born to a political family from the Southern Province, Rajapaksa was educated...
members of the Rajapaksa family have been members of parliament in Sri Lanka. Shashindra Rajapaksa (eldest son of Rajapaksa) is the former chief Minister...
Lakshman Namal Rajapaksa (Sinhala: ලක්ශ්මන් නාමල් රාජපක්ෂ, Tamil: நாமல் ராஜபக்ஷ; born 10 April 1986; known as Namal Rajapaksa) is a Sri Lankan politician...
Rohitha Rajapaksa (born 15 June 1989) is a Sri Lankan and media personality. He is the youngest son of Sri Lanka's former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. He...
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a Sri Lankan politician and former military officer who served as the 8th president of Sri Lanka from 2019 to 2022, initiated a self-imposed...
Basil Rajapaksa (born 27 April 1951) is a Sri Lankan-American politician. He is a former Minister of Finance and Member of Parliament for the national...
Rajapaksa or Rajapakse is a Sinhalese surname. Notable people with the surname include: Rajapaksafamily, Sri Lankan political dynasty Ajith Rajapakse...
Shasheendra Kumara Rajapaksa (known as Shasheendra Rajapaksa) is a Sri Lankan politician. He is a Member of Sri Lankan Parliament for Monaragala District...
This included three ministers from the Rajapaksafamily: Chamal Rajapaksa, Basil Rajapaksa, and Namal Rajapaksa. The president was to announce the new...
Lieutenant Commander Yoshitha Rajapaksa (born 12 June 1988) is a Sri Lankan sportsman and former naval officer. He is the son of the sixth president of...
Nirupama Deepika Rajapaksa (born 13 April 1962) is a Sri Lankan politician, a former member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka and a former deputy minister...
with Rajapaksafamily brothers Basil Rajapaksa as finance minister and Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister, and several more members of the Rajapaksa family...
nation's worst economic crisis since independence. Protesters blamed the Rajapaksafamily, one which had been dominating Sri Lankan politics for decades, for...
Rajapaksa won the election in a landslide victory, defeating his main opponent Premadasa by a significant margin, thus bringing the Rajapaksafamily back...
demand was the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and key officials from the Rajapaksafamily. Despite the involvement of several opposition parties...
Presidents of South Korea. In Sri Lanka, the Rajapaksafamily has had 2 presidents and 1 prime minister. Also, the family has many of their extended relatives...
parliament, and five members of the Rajapaksafamily won a seat in the parliament. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa became the new prime minister. Local...
parliament. Five members of the Rajapaksafamily won seats in the new parliament. Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa became the new prime minister. In...
Lanka Vote Hands RajapaksaFamily a Bigger Slice of Control". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 7 August 2020. "Mahinda Rajapaksa sworn in as Sri...
company Temasek Holdings. The family members dispute the charges as they arise. Former President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has been accused of nepotism...
with Rajapaksafamily brothers Basil Rajapaksa as finance minister and Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister, and several more members of the Rajapaksa family...
demand was the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and key officials from the Rajapaksafamily. Despite the involvement of several opposition parties...
crisis in Sri Lanka due to the power struggle between President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the people of Sri Lanka. It was fueled by the anti-government protests...
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