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| Wednesday, 7 April 2004 |
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Politics | |
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| Like father, like son Stalwart of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, veteran politician from the deep South of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapakse was sworn-in before President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga yesterday at the Presidential Secretariat as the Prime Minister of the 13th Parliament and the leader of the United People's Freedom Alliance Government group. He becomes the 19th Prime Minister of the Socialist Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka and the 13th person to occupy the office of the Prime Minister. He is the second political leader from the South to be elevated to the prestigious office of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. Earlier Dr. Wijayananda Dahanayake who represented the Galle electorate occupied the office of the Prime Minister for a brief period in 1960. Rajapakse who led the Opposition in the 12th Parliament, was successfully returned at the April 2 election after obtaining a massive 107,603 preferential votes from the Hambantota district. He led the Freedom Alliance candidates in that district to secure 178,895 votes. Mahinda, son of D. A. Rajapakse a recognised and respected politician from the South followed his father's footsteps and entered Parliament in 1970 at the age of 25. His father was a co-founder of the SLFP in 1952. Mahinda's father left the UNP along with the late S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike to form the SLFP in that year. Rajapakse's father was a shadow to the late S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike in the latter's march towards forming a people oriented political party. Rajapakse holds the unique record of being the youngest Parliamentarian of the 1970 Parliament at the age of 25, when that Parliament comprised men and women with lots of experience and maturity in politics. He had his education at Richmond College, Galle, Nalanda College and Thurstan College, Colombo. He became the Minister of Labour and Vocational Training in the 1994 PA Government. A diploma holder of the Prague Trade Union School, he rendered a yeoman service for the betterment of the working class of the country. Later, he was appointed Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Development Minister. He initiated the Diyawara Gammana program to solve the housing problem of fisheries community. He was also appointed as the Minister of Shipping. A vice Chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, Rajapakse campaigned for the victory of the Freedom Alliance as a co-organiser. The processions, demonstrations and pada yatras conducted by the SLFP Opposition in the past against the dominant UNP administrations of J. R. Jayewardene and R. Premadasa were the brain child of Mahinda Rajapakse who always led such activities from the front. He was conferred the patriotic title Sri Rohana Jana Ranjana by the Maha Sangha in 2001. He is a father of three sons. |
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