President marks 43 years since his entry to Parliament, today

Chaminda Perera

President Mahinda Rajapaksa marks 43 years since first entering Parliament today. He was the youngest member to be elected to the then National State Assembly from the Beliatta constituency from the United Front coalition which secured an unprecedented polls victory .

The 1970 Parliament was a fitting beginning for this budding politician hailing from a political dynasty in the South, to chart a long career culminating in his ascension to the Executive Presidency.

He won the crucial 2005 Presidential election contesting under the United People’s Freedom Alliance ticket and became the fifth Executive President of Sri Lanka.

President Rajapaska within a short span of three years succeeded in crushing one of the world’s most ruthless terrorist groups - the LTTE which for three decades killed thousands of innocent people of all communities,

In his political career, President Rajapaksa went on to become a Cabinet Minister, the Leader of Opposition and the Prime Minister before being elected as the 5th Executive President. He was the third elected President of Sri Lanka.

He was appointed Minister of Labour and Vocational Training following the People’s Alliance victory at the 1994 General Election. In 1997, he was appointed as the Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. President Rajapaksa was the Leader of the Opposition in 2001.

President Rajapaksa was re-elected for a second term of office at the Presidential Election held on January 26, 2010. He established a record in Sri Lankan political history by being the first Executive President to lead his party to a landslide victory in Parliamentary elections held just over two months after being elected for a second term to the office of Executive President, with an overwhelming majority of 1,842,749, polling 6,015,934 votes.