Harini Amarasuriya Becomes 16th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka

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Harini Amarasuriya, leader of the National People's Power (NPP), was sworn in as the 16th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.

An Overview of the News

• She replaced Dinesh Gunawardene, who resigned following the recent Presidential election results.

• The oath of office was administered by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo.

• Harini Amarasuriya is the third woman to hold the position of Prime Minister in Sri Lanka, after Sirimavo Bandaranaike and Chandrika Kumaratunga.

Background of Harini Amarasuriya

• She is an academic and human rights activist, previously serving as a university lecturer in the Department of Social Studies at the Open University of Sri Lanka.

• Her activism began in 2011 during the Rajapaksa government, where she participated in protests advocating for free education.

• She campaigned for Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) in the 2019 Presidential election.

• In 2020, she became a Member of Parliament (MP) for the first time, representing the NPP, an alliance led by the JVP.

New Cabinet Appointments

• President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has formed a new caretaker cabinet with four members, including himself.

• The other three cabinet members are NPP parliamentarians: Harini Amarasuriya, Vijitha Herath, and Laxman Nipunarachchi.

• This cabinet will be a caretaker government until the next parliamentary election on 14th November 2024.

Facts About Sri Lanka

• Legislative Capital: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

• Executive and Judicial Capital: Colombo

• Currency: Sri Lankan Rupee (SLR)

• President: Anura Kumara Dissanayake

• Prime Minister: Harini Amarasuriya