SRI LANKA-ELECTION/SWEARING IN Ranil Wickremesinghe sworn in as Sri Lanka's next Prime Minister

Record ID: 143061

  • Title: SRI LANKA-ELECTION/SWEARING IN Ranil Wickremesinghe sworn in as Sri Lanka's next Prime Minister
  • Date: 21st August 2015
  • Summary: COLOMBO, SRI LANKA (AUGUST 21, 2015) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** EXTERIOR OF PRESIDENTIAL SECRETARIAT BUILDING SRI LANKA'S NATIONAL FLAG PRIME MINISTER ELECT RANIL WICKREMESINGHE WALKING INSIDE THE HALL FOR HIS SWEARING-IN CEREMONY WICKREMESINGHE WALKING TO GREET BUDDHIST MONKS / WICKREMESINGHE SHAKING HANDS WITH FORMER PRESIDENT MAHINDA RAJAPAKSA
  • Embargoed: 5th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Sri Lanka
  • Country: Sri Lanka
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVABTENM6FNNUMVOJHU1Z74SG7ML
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as Sri Lanka's new prime minister on Friday (August 21) and his alliance signed an agreement with President Maithripala Sirisena's party to work together in a national unity government to implement reform agenda.
    Clad in dark gray suit, Wickremesinghe, 66, was sworn in as the 16th prime minister of the country in front of Sirisena following Buddhist religious ceremony.
    His centre-right United National Party (UNP) won the Monday's poll, defeating former leader Mahinda Rajapaksa's coalition, but fell seven seats short of an outright majority.
    The UNP along with Sirisena's centre-left Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) will form a national unity government to revive stalled reforms to ensure transparency and accountability.
    Analysts and experts expect Wickremesinghe to help accelerate the development by making his promises of good governance and political consensus a reality.
    An unlikely veteran of the cut-throat world of Sri Lankan politics, Wickremesinghe campaigned on a pledge to create one million new jobs in five years.
    The pro-Western lawyer is backed by the business community but, as head of the minority government formed in January, pursued more people-friendly policies in line with Sirisena's push to overcome the legacy of a civil war that ended in 2009.
    His party suffered losses in 29 elections over the past decade as his popularity was tarnished by his rivals with some unproven allegations that he was not tough enough to handle the island nation's civil war.
    His presidential bid in 2005 failed after ethnic minority Tamils in the island nation's north and east under the control of Tamil Tiger separatists boycotted the poll.
    Wickremesinghe was first appointed prime minister in 1993 but held the largely ceremonial post for just 16 months before losing a 1994 election.
    He became prime minister for 26 months between 2001 and 2004 before his government was dissolved by the then leader on allegations that he was not handling the ethnic war properly. Independent analysts, however, say his pragmatic approach to make peace with the Tigers was misunderstood by many.
    Wickremesinghe, who married to a university lecturer in 1995, hails from a prominent family of politicians and businessmen with large interests in the media.
    In 1978, he was made the country's youngest cabinet minister at the age of 29 by his uncle, President Junius Jayawardene.
    He became party leader in 1994 after assassinations wiped out the UNP's more senior members and was the country's long serving opposition leader since 1994.
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