Dinesh Chandra Rupasinghe Gunawardena (, ; born 2 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as

Prime Minister of Sri Lanka The prime minister of Sri Lanka, officially the prime minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the most senior member of parliament in the cabinet of ministers. It is the second-most powerful position in Sri Lanka's exec ...

from 2022 to 2024. He also held the positions of Minister of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government. Gunawardena has been leader of the left-wing

Mahajana Eksath Peramuna The Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (People's United Front) is a political party in Sri Lanka. The party is currently led by former Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, son of Philip Gunawardena, the founder of the party. History Under Philip Gunaw ...

(MEP) party since 1983, was briefly the ''de facto'' leader of the

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna The Sri Lanka People's Front (; ), commonly known by its Sinhalese name Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), is a political party in Sri Lanka. It was the ruling party in Sri Lanka from 2019 to 2022 and was the largest party in Parliament of Sr ...

from 2022 to 2023, and has taken cabinet positions under several previous governments, including Leader of the House from 2020 until 2022. Born in a political family, the son of

Philip Gunawardena Don Philip Rupasinghe Gunawardena (11 January 1901 – 26 March 1972) was a Sri Lankan Marxist politician and leftist. A founder of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, the first political party in Ceylon which was known for having introduced Trotskyi ...

and

Kusumasiri Gunawardena Kusumasiri Gunawardena (née Amarasinghe) (1912–1986) was a Ceylonese politician. Early life, education and political career Kusumasiri was born in Medaketiya (Tangalle) on 26 May 1912, the daughter of Don Davith Amarasinghe and Sophinona. ...

, and nephew of

Vivienne Goonewardene Violet Vivienne Goonewardene (, ; 18 September 19163 October 1996), commonly known as "Vivi", was a Sri Lankan anti-colonial activist and prominent politician, serving as one of the world's first female ministers. A key figure in both the Indian ...

, he was educated at

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo also known as; Royal Colombo, Colombo Royal College or Colombo Royal) is a Single-sex education, boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started by Joseph Marsh (priest), Joseph Mar ...

and later at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

, where he advocated pacifism in the Vietnam War. Entering politics in 1983 as a Member of Parliament from

Maharagama Maharagama is an outer suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka on the High-Level (A4) Road about from the centre of the commercial capital. It developed rapidly in the 1980s as a dormitory suburb. Governed by the Maharagama Urban Council, the town possesses ...

and later

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

, his first role in government was as Minister of Transport under

Ratnasiri Wickremanayake Ratnasiri Wickremanayake (, ; 5 May 1933 – 27 December 2016) was a Sri Lankan politician who served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2000 to 2001 and again from 2005 to 2010, and also served as the Leader of the Opposition from 2001 to 200 ...

. In 2022, Gunawardena was appointed the Prime Minister after former

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Gotabaya Rajapaksa Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa, (; ; born 20 June 1949) was a Sri Lankan politician and military officer who served as the eighth President of Sri Lanka from 18 November 2019 until his Resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, resignation on 14 July 202 ...

resigned amidst the ongoing economic crisis and

Ranil Wickremesinghe Ranil Wickremesinghe (; ; born 24 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the ninth president of Sri Lanka from 2022 to 2024. He has also served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 1993–1994, 2001–2004, 2015–2018, 2018-2019 a ...

was elected as his successor. In September 2024, Gunawardena resigned.

Early life and family

Gunawardena was born into the political Gunawardena family on 2 March 1949. His father,

, was known as "the Father of Sri Lankan

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

" and a key independence figure, and his mother,

, was a member of parliament. His aunt,

, was often considered the "foremost female figure in the Sri Lankan left". Educated at Royal Primary School, Colombo and

, he went on to study at the Netherlands School of Business. He also graduated with a

B.B.A. A Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is an undergraduate degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of four years and typically 120 credits of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of business ...

from the

, and whilst in the United States, became involved in student activism, taking part in

anti-Vietnam War protests Protests against the Vietnam War took place in the 1960s and 1970s. The protests were part of a movement in opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War. The majority of the protests were in the United States, but some took place aro ...

. Gunawardena later married Ramani Wathsala Kotelawela from the Kotelawela/Jayawardena family; who is the niece of General Sir John Kotelawela, the third Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. They had one son, Yadamini, and one daughter, Sankapali. Ramani died of undiagnosed

hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver parenchyma, liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), Anorexia (symptom), poor appetite ...

in the mid-1980s.

Political career

1972–2000

After graduation from the

, Gunawardena worked in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, but returned to Sri Lanka in 1972 after his father's death. He was appointed to the

's (MEP) central committee in August 1973, and became general-secretary of the MEP in 1974. Gunawardena was the MEP's candidate in

Avissawella Avissawella (, ) is a township in Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council, situated on the A4 route from Colombo to Ratnapura, Colombo District, Western Province, Sri Lanka, approximately 40 km air distance and 48.1 km road distance fr ...

at the 1977 parliamentary election, but failed to get elected until he ran as the MEP's candidate in the

Maharagama Electoral District Maharagama Electoral District was an electoral district of Sri Lanka between July 1977 and February 1989. The district was named after the town of Maharagama in Colombo District, Western Province. The 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka introduced th ...

at the 1983 by-election, winning and entering

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. During the 1989 parliamentary election, Gunawardena successfully ran as one of the MEP's candidates in the multi-member

Colombo Electoral District Colombo Electoral District is one of the 22 multi-member electoral districts of Sri Lanka created by the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. The district is conterminous with the administrative district of Colombo in the Western province. The dis ...

. He was again one of the MEP's candidates in Colombo District at the 1994 parliamentary election, but the MEP failed to win any seats in Parliament.

2000–2010

On 27 August 2000, the MEP joined the

People's Alliance People's Alliance may refer to: * People's Alliance ( ''Volksunie''), Belgian political party which split in 2001 into the Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie and Spirit * People's Alliance (Bulgaria), a Bulgarian party from 1921 to 1923 * People's Alliance ( ...

(PA). Gunawardena contested the 2000 parliamentary election as one of the PA's candidates in Colombo District. He was elected and re-entered Parliament. Following the 2000 election, he was appointed

Minister of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

, and was given the additional portfolio of Environment in September 2001. He was re-elected at the 2001 parliamentary election. On 20 January 2004 the

Sri Lanka Freedom Party The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP; ; ) is a centre-left political party in Sri Lanka. Founded by S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike in 1951, the party was one of Sri Lanka's two main parties from the 1950s to the 2010s, serving as the main rival of the c ...

(SLFP) and the

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP; , PLF) is a Marxist–Leninist political party in Sri Lanka. The party was formerly a revolutionary movement and was involved in two armed uprisings against the government of Sri Lanka: once in 1971 JVP ins ...

(JVP) formed the

United People's Freedom Alliance The United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA; ''Eksath Janathā Nidahas Sandānaya''; ) was a political alliance in Sri Lanka founded by former Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga in 2004 and dissolved by former Sri Lankan President Ma ...

(UPFA), which the MEP joined on 2 February 2004. Gunawardena contested the 2004 parliamentary election as one of the UPFA's candidates in Colombo District. He was elected and re-entered Parliament. He was appointed Minister of Urban Development and Water Supply and Deputy Minister of Education after the election. In January 2007 his cabinet portfolio was changed to Minister of Urban Development and Sacred Area Development but he lost his deputy ministerial position. 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 I ...

in June 2008.

2010–present

Gunawardena was re-elected in the 2010 parliamentary election, following which he was appointed Minister of Water Supply. He lost his cabinet position following the 2015 presidential election, albeit being re-elected. In March 2017 he was suspended from parliamentary sittings for one week due to repeatedly disrupting proceedings. On 22 July 2022, Gunawardena was appointed Prime Minister after former President

resigned amidst the ongoing

economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

and political crises and

was elected as his successor by Parliament. Gunawardena and Wickremesinghe were classmates during school days. On 23 September 2024, following Wickremesinghe's defeat in the

presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The ...

and the inauguration of his successor,

Anura Kumara Dissanayake Anura Kumara Dissanayake (born 24 November 1968), commonly referred to by his initials AKD, is a Sri Lankan politician who has been the tenth and current president of Sri Lanka since 2024. Dissanayake is the first Sri Lankan president to be ele ...

, Gunawardena resigned from the position of prime minister.

Electoral history

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunawardena, Dinesh Prime ministers of Sri Lanka Transport ministers of Sri Lanka Urban development ministers of Sri Lanka Environment ministers of Sri Lanka Chief Government Whips (Sri Lanka) Deputy ministers of Sri Lanka Members of the 8th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 9th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 11th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 12th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 13th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 14th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 15th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka 1949 births Living people Sinhalese trade unionists Sri Lankan Buddhists Mahajana Eksath Peramuna politicians United People's Freedom Alliance politicians Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna politicians University of Oregon alumni Nyenrode Business University alumni Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Alumni of Royal Preparatory School