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Sri Lankabhimanya Ranasinghe Premadasa ( si, රණසිංහ ප්‍රේමදාස ''Raṇasiṃha Premadāsa'', ta, ரணசிங்க பிரேமதாசா ''Raṇaciṅka Pirēmatācā''; 23 June 1924 – 1 May 1993) was the third
President of Sri Lanka The President of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජනාධිපති ''Śrī Laṃkā Janādhipathi''; ta, இலங்கை சனாதிபதி ''Ilankai janātipati'') is the head of state and head of government of t ...
from 2 January 1989 to 1 May 1993. Before that, he served as the
prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
in the government headed by
J. R. Jayewardene Junius Richard Jayewardene ( si, ජුනියස් රිචඩ් ජයවර්ධන, ta, ஜூனியஸ் ரிச்சட் ஜயவர்தனா; 17 September 1906 – 1 November 1996), commonly abbreviated in Sri Lanka as ...
from 6 February 1978 to 1 January 1989. He was awarded Sri Lanka's highest award to a civilian Sri Lankabhimanya in 1986 by President
Junius Richard Jayewardene Junius Richard Jayewardene ( si, ජුනියස් රිචඩ් ජයවර්ධන, ta, ஜூனியஸ் ரிச்சட் ஜயவர்தனா; 17 September 1906 – 1 November 1996), commonly abbreviated in Sri Lanka as ...
, the first to receive in Sri Lankan history.


Early life

Ranasinghe Premadasa was born on 23 June 1924 at Dias Place, Colombo 11, to the family of Richard Ranasinghe (Ranasinghe Mudalali) of Kosgoda and Battuwita Jayasinghe Arachchige Ensina Hamine of Batuwita,
Horana Horana ( si, හොරණ, , ta, ஹொரணை) is a town in Kalutara District, in the Western Province of Sri Lanka. It is on the A8 highway between Panadura and Ratnapura, away from Ratnapura and away from Panadura. Horana is connected ...
. Premadasa was the oldest of five children, three sisters, and one brother. His father was engaged in the transport business in Colombo employing
rickshaw A rickshaw originally denoted a two- or three-wheeled passenger cart, now known as a pulled rickshaw, which is generally pulled by one person carrying one passenger. The first known use of the term was in 1879. Over time, cycle rickshaws (als ...
s. He received his early education at the Purwarama temple under Ven. Welitara Sri Pannananda and secondary education at Lorenz College, Skinner's Road, South Maradana and at Saint Joseph's College, Colombo under Rector Fr. Le Goc. At age fifteen, Premadasa started the Sucharita Children's Society, which later became the
Sucharitha Movement Sucharitha was the home of Ranasinghe Premadasa, former President of Sri Lanka. It was the headquarters of his Sri Sucharitha Movement. Premadasa remained at Sucharitha even after being elected president, using President's House, Colombo only for ...
, a volunteers organisation with the objectives of uplifting the economic, social and spiritual development of the low income people living in shanty areas of the capital. He was the full-time organizer of the community development project of the area in 1939. These youth who enrolled in his development movement refrained from taking liquor and avoided smoking and gambling. Premadasa too was a teetotaler.


Early political career


Ceylon Labour Party

Allying with A. E. Goonesinghe, the founder leader of the Ceylon Labour movement, Premadasa started his political career in 1946 joining the
Ceylon Labour Party The Ceylon Labour Party (CLP) was a political party in Sri Lanka. History The Ceylon Labour Party was formed in October 1928, with A. E. Gunasinha as president and Proctor Marshall Perera as secretary. Its executive committee included C. H. Z. ...
as a full time member and campaigned for Goonesinghe in the 1947 general election. In 1950, he was elected to the
Colombo Municipal Council The Colombo Municipal Council is the municipal governing body of Colombo, the largest city and financial centre in Sri Lanka. It consists of a directly elected executive Mayor of Colombo, current elect is Rosy Senanayake, and 119 elected 119 muni ...
as a member of San Sebastian's Ward.


United National Party

Having realized limited future prospects in the Labour Party in the mid 1950s, he supported Sir John Kotelawala's move to remove
LSSP The Lanka Sama Samaja Party, often abbreviated as LSSP (literally: Lanka Socialist Party, Sinhala: ලංකා සම සමාජ පක්ෂය, Tamil: லங்கா சமசமாஜக் கட்சி), is a major Trotskyist politi ...
Mayor of Colombo The Mayor of Colombo is the Mayor (and head) of the Colombo Municipal Council. The post was created in 1866 when the Colombo Municipal Council was established by the Legislative Council of Ceylon. The Mayor is assisted by the Deputy Mayor and a ...
, Dr N. M. Perera. In 1955, he succeeded
T. Rudra Thillainathan Rudra, JP, UM (1909–1960) was a Ceylonese politician. He was the mayor of Colombo from 1953 to 1954. Rudra's father Thillainathan hailed from Vaddukkoddai and he grew up in Wellawatte. He became a champion weight lifter and gain ...
as Deputy Mayor and joined the
United National Party The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...
in 1956 following the successful removal of Dr N. M. Perera as Mayor of Colombo in February 1956. From the United National Party, Premadasa contested the 1956 general election from the Ruwanwella electorate and lost to Dr N. M. Perera. Following his defeat, he joined
J. R. Jayewardene Junius Richard Jayewardene ( si, ජුනියස් රිචඩ් ජයවර්ධන, ta, ஜூனியஸ் ரிச்சட் ஜயவர்தனா; 17 September 1906 – 1 November 1996), commonly abbreviated in Sri Lanka as ...
working for the party reorganization under
Dudley Senanayake Dudley Shelton Senanayake ( Sinhala: ඩඩ්ලි ශෙල්ටන් සේනානායක: ta, டட்லி சேனநாயக்கா; 19 June 1911 – 13 April 1973), was a Sri Lankan statesman who served as Prime Min ...
and served as the secretary of the Religious Affairs Committee of the Buddhist Council appointed by the government to organize the 2500th Buddha Jayanthi celebrations. The following year he joined the protest march to Kandy on 3 October, which had been organized by J. R. Jayewardene. This march was disrupted at Imbulgoda by thugs led by
S. D. Bandaranayake Samuel Dias Bandaranayake (1 December 1917 – 3 June 2014) was a Sri Lankan socialist politician and a member of parliament representing Gampaha. Early life and education Born to a wealthy family, his father was Conrad Peter Dias Bandaranaya ...
. He was elected the third Member of Parliament from Colombo Central in the March 1960 general election. The short lived Dudley Senanayake government fell in three months and in the July 1960 general election that followed he polled fourth in the three member constituency of Colombo Central. In 1961, he re-entered the Colombo Municipal Council having been elected from the Cinnamon Gardens Ward and served till 1965. During this time he worked to open pre-schools for poor families and initiated vocational training centers in sewing and tailoring for the youth.


Minister of Local Government

He successfully contested the Colombo Central electorate in the 1965 general election and was elected to parliament, he was appointed
Chief Government Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom ...
and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Local Government, M. Tiruchelvam. When Tiruchelvam resigned in 1968, after the Federal Party left Dudley Senanayake's government, Premadasa was promoted as Minister of Local Government and became a member of Senanayake's cabinet. During his tenure he instituted a bridges programme using pre-stressed concrete components, created the Maligawatta Housing Scheme and became known in the local governments in the island. Premadasa turned
Radio Ceylon Radio Ceylon ( si, ලංකා ගුවන් විදුලි සේවය ''Lanka Guwan Viduli Sevaya'', ta, இலங்கை வானொலி, ''ilankai vanoli'') is a radio station based in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) and the first ...
, the oldest radio station in South Asia, into a public corporation – the
Ceylon Broadcasting Corporation The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ගුවන් විදුලි සංස්ථාව, ''Shrī Lankā Guvan Viduli Sansthāva'', ta, இலங்கை ஒலிபரப்புக் க� ...
on 5 January 1967.


Opposition and the Citizens Front

In the following 1970 general election, he was elected first Member of Parliament for Colombo Central and sat in the opposition with J.R. Jayewardene, the Leader of the Opposition. Premadasa was appointed Chief Opposition Whip. Further, he was elected chairman of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth Inter- Parliamentary Association held in Australia. In the meantime, he was member of the Constituent Assembly which drafted the constitution of 1972. Premadasa called for reforms of the party, which Senanayake refused resulting in Premadasa resigning from the party working committee. He went on to form the ''Samastha Lanka Puravesi Peramuna'', known generally as the ''Puravesi Peramuna'' or ''Citizens Front''. Building up the Citizens Front, he was in open conflict with Senanayake who had recently healed a rift with Jayawardane. Amidst this conflict Dudley Senanayake died on 13 April 1973 following a heart attack and Senanayake loyalist found fault with Premadasa. Jayawardane who became party leader came to terms with Premadasa, who stopped the Citizens Front and return to fully support the United National Party driving up its membership at grassroot levels and becoming its deputy leader.


Minister of Local Government, Housing and Construction

Premadasa was re-elected as the first member of parliament for Colombo Central in the general election in 1977 and was appointed the Leader of the House and the Minister of Local Government, Housing and Construction.


Prime Minister

In the following year, when J. R. Jayewardene became the first Executive President of the country, he appointed Premadasa as the Prime Minister on 23 February 1978. Premadasa began to define the new role of the Prime Minister under an executive president. He took residence at
Temple Trees Temple Trees is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. It is located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Several recent Presidents have used it as their official residence as well. History Private residence The history of ''Temple Trees' ...
, retained the use of the Prime Minister's Lodge and established a new prime minister's office at Sirimathipaya. He began representing Sri Lanka internationally, having led the Sri Lankan delegation to the
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM; or) is a biennial summit meeting of the governmental leaders from all Commonwealth nations. Despite the name, the head of state may be present in the meeting instead of the head of ...
in 1979, where he secured British funding for the construction of the Victoria Dam. He headed the Sri Lankan delegation to the
United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
in 1980 where he addressed the general assembly. Continuing to hold the portfolios of Local Government, Housing and Construction; he initiated his political program, shelter for the poor, after the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
declared a Year of Shelter. His proposal to declare 1987 as the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless was unanimously accepted at the 37th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Other policies included ''Jana Saviya'', the instrument he used to help the poor, a foster parents scheme, the ''Gam Udawa'' project with which he tried to stir up the stupor in the villages, the mobile secretariat whereby he took the central government bureaucracy to the peasants, the Tower Hall Foundation for drama and music, and the pension schemes he initiated for the elder artistes. On the economic front, the garment industry project that he initiated became a forerunner in earning foreign exchange and provision of employment in the villages. Premadasa served as prime minister from 1978 to 1988, with little rifts with President Jayewardene with the exception of the latter's signed the
Indo-Sri Lanka Accord The Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord was an accord signed in Colombo on 29 July 1987, between Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President J. R. Jayewardene. The accord was expected to resolve the Sri Lankan Civil War by enabling t ...
. Jayewardene decided to step down after his second term and Premadasa was nominated as the party candidate for the presidential election set for December 1988. He was elected the second executive president of the country at the 1988 presidential election, gaining 2,569,199 (50.43%) votes against Sirima Bandaranaike who came second with 2,289,860 (44.95%) votes. Premadasa became the first non- Govigama politician to be appointed Prime Minister and elected president in Sri Lanka.


Presidency

Soon after being elected president, he dissolved parliament and called for fresh elections. In the 1989 parliamentary election in February the UNP gained 125 seats in parliament, forming a government with a majority in parliament. At the time he became president, the country faced both a
civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
in the north and a communist insurgency in the south, both key issues Premadasa concentrated on, with particularly ruthless actions against the insurgents. The security forces brutally put down the revolt and killed many of its leaders.


Economic policy

Premadasa also concentrated on a grassroots-level economic development drive, focusing on the provision of housing, poverty alleviation and the upliftment of the poor. He encouraged the building of model villages with clean water, transport infrastructure, schools and health centers. He encouraged the establishment of small-scale industries (mostly garment-related) in poor areas by giving factory owners low-interest loans and a share in textile quotas for the United States and Europe. The '' Gam Udāwa'' programme is one of his best-known achievements in this area, along with the ''Janasaviya'' programme that is today part of the '' Samurdhi'' scheme.


Insurrection

Appointing Ranjan Wijeratne as Minister of Foreign Affairs and State Minister for Defence, he had Wijeratne clamp down on the JVP insurgent activity in the south of the island which had been paralyzing the state machinery and economic activity of the island since 1987 with its target killings, its unofficial curfews and work stoppages.
Operation Combine Operation Combine ( Ops Combine) was a special operation established by the Sri Lanka Army from 4 August 1989 to February 1990 as counterinsurgency operation with support of the Sri Lanka Police against the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) whi ...
launched by Wijeratne successfully suppressed the insurgency by brutally suppressing it and killing its leaders including
Rohana Wijeweera Patabendi Don Jinadasa Nandasiri Wijeweera ( si, පටබැඳි දොන් ජිනදාස නන්දසිරි විජෙවීර; 14 July 1943 – 13 November 1989, better known by his '' nom de guerre'' Rohana Wijeweera, was ...
by late 1989 and effectively ending the insurrection by early 1990.


Civil war

His handling of the country's civil war was less successful. In the north, the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
were facing off against the Indian Peace-Keeping Force the Indian presence on the island was unpopular, and Premadasa requested India to pull out its troops. In order to force the IPKF to leave the island, he authorized a clandestine operation to supply arms to LTTE to fight the Tamil National Army formed by the IPKF, a collusion that came to light in the report published by the Sri Lankan Presidential Commission to inquire into the 1992 assassination of Lieutenant General
Denzil Kobbekaduwa Lieutenant General Denzil Lakshman Kobbekaduwa, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP ( si, ඩෙන්සිල් ලක්ෂ්මණ් කොබ්බෑකඩුව; 27 July 1940 – 8 August 1992) was a senior Sri Lankan Army officer who served in t ...
. While the IPKF was recalled by New Delhi in 1990, the government's war with the LTTE resumed, beginning
Eelam War II Eelam War II is the name given to the second phase of armed conflict between Sri Lankan military and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The war started after the failure of peace talks between the Premadasa government and the LTT ...
, which ended in a stalemate five years later. The 1990 massacre of Sri Lankan Police officers, which occurred after the policemen were asked to surrender to the LTTE in Batticaloa at Premadasa's request, was later established to have been performed with the same weapons he had supplied them.


Impeachment

In September 1991, Premadasa faced an impeachment in parliament led by his two formidable rivals in the UNP,
Lalith Athulathmudali Lalith William Samarasekera Athulathmudali, PC (; 26 November 1936 – 23 April 1993), known as Lalith Athulathmudali, was a Sri Lankan statesman. He was a prominent member of the United National Party, who served as Minister of Trade and Sh ...
and Gamini Dissanayake. He defeated it by adjourning Parliament and the Speaker Mohamed dismissed the impeachment stating a lack of signatures after several of the parliamentarians who supported it withdrew their support after facing threats. He then expelled Athulathmudali and Dissanayake from the party, who then joined to form the
Democratic United National Front The Democratic United National Front ( si, ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී එක්සත් ජාතික පෙරමුණ, pronounced ''Prajathanthrvadi Eksath Jathika Peramuna'', ta, ஜனநாயக ஐக்க� ...
(DUNF). In 1992, he changed the country's name in English from Sri to Shri Lanka on the advice of soothsayers, who predicted it would improve the country's fortunes. The spelling was restored after his assassination in 1993.


Assassination

Ranasinghe Premadasa was killed along with 17 others on 1 May, Saturday, 1993, around 12.45 p.m. during UNP's
May day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. Tr ...
rally in Colombo, by an
LTTE The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
suicide bomber. The explosion took place at Armour Street-Grandpass Junction in Hulftsdorp, Colombo while President Premadasa was unofficially supervising the procession as it was heading towards the
Galle Face Green Galle Face is a ocean-side urban park, which stretches for along the coast, in the heart of Colombo, the financial and business capital of Sri Lanka. The promenade was initially laid out in 1859 by Governor Sir Henry George Ward, although t ...
from
Sugathadasa Stadium Sugathadasa Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is currently used for football, rugby union, and athletics. The stadium holds 25,000 people and has an on-site hotel. History The concept of an outdoor sporting stadium was ...
. The suicide bomber was later identified as Kulaveerasingam Veerakumar alias 'Babu', a close friend of the President's valet E. M. P. Mohideen. He rode a bicycle towards the President, left it near the President's Range Rover and walked towards the President when security personnel attempted to stop him. Despite this, Mohideen allowed him to get close to the President, when Veerakumar detonated the explosive device. Killed in the explosion were Mohideen, SSP Ronnie Gunasinghe and most of Premadasa's personal staff. Another 38 people were injured in the bombing including seven who were seriously wounded. Confusion prevailed as it was unclear what had happened, with Premadasa and his security detail missing. His death was only confirmed two hours later by his personal physician when the remains of the president were identified by his ring and watch. The site of the explosion was cleaned within hours before a proper investigation was conducted. The May Day parade continued even after the explosion for some time. An island-wide curfew was imposed hours after the assassination. Prime minister Dingiri Banda Wijetunga was sworn in as the new acting-president at afternoon. The government did not announce the death of President Premadasa until 6 p.m. local time when state television Rupavahini broadcast a tape of BBC's report of the incident. A period of national mourning was announced until the funeral. Police claimed that they recovered the severed head of a young man suspected to be the bomber, which found to have a cyanide suicide capsule, bearing LTTE tradecraft in his mouth. His state funeral took place at Independence Square, Colombo on 9 May 1993.


Legacy

The climax of the 1993 Indian film ''Gentleman'' was rewritten by director S. Shankar based on the assassination of Ranasinghe Premadasa after a request by film producer Kunjumon. The film was in post production stage when Ranasinghe Premadasa was assassinated and the film was released on 30 July 1993.


Personal life

Premadasa married Hema Wickramatunge, only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wickramatunge Arachchige Charles Appuhamy of Bandarawela on 23 June 1964. They had a son, Sajith, and a daughter, Dulanjali. A hard worker, Premadasa was known for raising early and following a strict routine. He lived and work from his private residence and office,
Sucharitha Sucharitha was the home of Ranasinghe Premadasa, former President of Sri Lanka. It was the headquarters of his Sri Sucharitha Movement. Premadasa remained at Sucharitha even after being elected president, using President's House, Colombo only for o ...
even during his tenure as prime minister and president.


Further reading

*


See also

*
Sajith Premadasa Sajith Premadasa, MP ( si, සජිත් ප්‍රේමදාස, ta, சஜித் பிரேமதாச; born 12 January 1967) is a Sri Lankan politician. He is the current Leader of the Opposition of Sri Lanka and Member of Par ...
*
List of political families in Sri Lanka This is a partial listing of prominent political families in Sri Lanka. Abdul Majeed *A. L. Abdul Majeed (15 November 1933 – 13 November 1987) also known as Mutur Majeed, former Deputy Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Member Parl ...
* List of assassinations of the Sri Lankan Civil War * List of assassinated and executed heads of state and government


References


External links


Website of the Parliament of Sri Lanka

Official Website of United National Party (UNP)




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