Ranil Wickremesinghe to be the new President of Sri Lanka

Ranil Wickremesinghe to be the new President of Sri Lanka

Ranil Wickremesinghe has won the presidential election held in Sri Lanka on 20 July 2022. It was the first time that the contest for the presidency was between three candidates. This time the contest

for the President's post was between Ranil  Wickremesinghe Dallas Alhapperuma and Left-wing

Janata Vimukti Peramuna (JVP) leader Anura Kumara Disanayake.

Wickremesinghe was elected the country's prime minister when former Prime Minister Mahinda

Rajapaksa resigned in May 2022. After this, when Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned from his post,

Wickremesinghe was elected as acting President.

According to the Constitution of Sri Lanka, the new President will now complete the term of the former

President. Wickremesinghe got 134 votes.

Born in an influential Sinhalese family in Sri Lanka,

Wickremesinghe is a lawyer by profession. At the age of only 28, he was given the post of DeputyForeign Minister. His ability to work had impressed many leaders in a short span of time. Wickremesinghe got a full cabinet post on 5 October 1977 and became the Minister of Youth Affairs.

LTTE terrorists killed the then President Ranasinghe Premadase  in a suicide attack in 1993. After hisdeath, Prime Minister DB Wijitunga was made the caretaker President. Wickremesinghe was appointed as the Prime Minister of the country for the first time on 07 May 1993.