Ranil Wickremesinghe

Wickremesinghe returns for a sixth term as Sri Lanka PM with the country mired in political and economic crises.

This led to a chaotic and cascading effect on Sri Lanka’s economy, culminating with the country running out of foreign reserves and Wickremesinghe being requested by President Rajapaksa to take over the reins of the government. The move, which led to Mahinda Rajapaksa returning as prime minister for 52 days, was decried by critics as a constitutional coup. Young Wickremesinghe became the deputy foreign minister and a short while later shifted to a newly created post as minister of youth affairs and employment. Once again, he became the leader of the opposition and has not run for the presidency since. When Wickremesinghe contested the presidency in 2005 he narrowly lost to Mahinda Rajapaksa, with a deficit of approximately 150,000 votes. Ranil Wickremesinghe has been sworn in as Sri Lankan prime minister for the sixth time as the island nation faces political and economic crises.

Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe (left) attending his swearing-in ceremony before President Gotabaya Rajapaksa (right) at the President's Palace in Colombo, ...

The protesters have long been demanding that the president step down as well and the constitution be amended to curtail the sweeping powers of his office. Since then the military has been called in to help police maintain law along with powers to shoot rioters. He’s served as minister in several governments and first served as premier in the early 1990s. Sri Lanka is in the worst economic tailspin of its independent history. He’s viewed as something of a survivor in the island nation’s politics. “I look forward to working together with him to make Sri Lanka strong again.”

Colombo, Sri Lanka: Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as Sri Lanka's prime minister for the sixth time on Thursday, though the veteran politician has never ...

He was accused of cronyism during his tenure and failing to prosecute members of the previous Rajapaksa regime, members of which had been accused of graft, kickbacks and siphoning off public finances. A key accused in the multi-million dollar scam was the central bank chief at the time, Arjuna Mahendran, who was Ranil Wickremesinghe's schoolmate and choice for the job. He was nonetheless sworn in as prime minister again in 2015 after the election defeat of president Mahinda Rajapaksa after the opposition rallied behind him as a unity candidate against the authoritarian leader. Conflict with the president saw him sacked before his term was over, and he spent the next decade in the political wilderness. But Ranil Wickremesinghe once told AFP he would have likely pursued a career as a journalist, had the government of the day not nationalised his family's newspaper business in 1973. Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as Sri Lanka's prime minister for the sixth time on Thursday, though the veteran politician has never completed a full term in office.

South Asia News: United National Party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday was appointed as the new Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, days after the last ...

Sri Lanka is facing the worst economic crisis since its independence. * He’s served as minister in several governments and first served as premier in the early 1990s. This would be Wickremesinghe’s sixth stint as prime minister.

United National Party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the Sri Lankan Prime Minister on Thursday, days after Mahinda Rajapaksa, the brother of ...

Wickremesinghe’s reputation was damaged after a series of bombings targeting civilians rocked the country on Easter Sunday in 2019. Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed as the deputy foreign minister and later made the minister of youth affairs and employment. After his party was defeated by his childhood friend and bitter political enemy Chandrika Bandaranaike, he became the leader of the opposition. Arjuna Mahendran was the central bank chief at that time. Wickremesinghe’s first term as the prime minister lasted little more than a year. His father Esmond Wickremesinghe had been part of the post-colonial establishment.

Sri Lanka's opposition lawmaker Ranil Wickremesinghe has been sworn in as the next prime minister of the country, two sources in his United National Party ...

The opposition and other groups have described Wickremesinghe's appointment as a 'power move' by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, actually intended to ...

The UNP managed to win a single seat – which was not won by Wickremesinghe, the Prime Minister at that time. That is what we have been pointing out for the past two-and-a-half years”. At the same time, the Rajapaksas are Ranil Wickremesinghe’s saviours. “The Maha Nayaka Thera’s suggestion was for a non-partisan person. (However, Churchill’s support was not as limited as Wickremesinghe described.) Now, he is back at Temple Trees!” the newspaper wrote.

Sri Lanka's new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said he will show his majority in parliament next week but the task for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's ...

Wickremesinghe has built relationships with regional powers India and China, key investors and lenders. | World News.

Pfizer Inc and its German partner BioNTech SE said on Friday they had agreed to push back deliveries of their Covid-19 vaccines to the European Union by three months as the bloc prepares for a potential booster campaign in the fall. In a continuation of his announcement from a day ago that the Twitter acquisition deal was being put on hold temporarily, world's richest person Elon Musk announced on Saturday his team will do 'random sampling' of 100 followers of Twitter's account on the social media giant's own platform. Some opposition politicians and religious leaders objected to Wickremesinghe’s appointment, saying citizens wanted sweeping reforms. “I look forward to working together with him to make Sri Lanka strong again.” The current crisis could be Wickremesinghe’s greatest challenge yet. Asked whether there was a possible solution, he replied: “Absolutely.”

Wickremesinghe took his oath before President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at a ceremony in the president's office on Thursday.

Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since gaining independence from Britain in 1948. His resignation automatically dissolved the Cabinet, leaving an administrative vacuum. Wickremesinghe took his oath before President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at a ceremony in the president’s office on Thursday

The meeting between Gopal Baglay and Wickremesinghe took place a day after the latter assumed the premiership of his country for a sixth term.

Also Read Wickremesinghe, 73, who is now in his sixth term as Sri Lanka's prime minister, was appointed on Thursday by embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, whose older brother, Mahinda, resigned from the post on May 9. Also Read