Ranil Wickremesinghe

Ranil Wickremesinghe
රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்க
Wickremesinghe in 2023
9th President of Sri Lanka
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 July 2022 Acting: 14–21 July 2022
Prime Minister	Dinesh Gunawardena
Preceded by	Gotabaya Rajapaksa
10th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
In office 12 May – 21 July 2022
President	Gotabaya Rajapaksa Himself (Acting)
Preceded by	Mahinda Rajapaksa
Succeeded by	Dinesh Gunawardena
In office 15 December 2018 – 21 November 2019
President	Maithripala Sirisena Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Preceded by	Mahinda Rajapaksa
Succeeded by	Mahinda Rajapaksa
In office 9 January 2015 – 26 October 2018
President	Maithripala Sirisena
Preceded by	D. M. Jayaratne
Succeeded by	Mahinda Rajapaksa
In office 9 December 2001 – 6 April 2004
President	Chandrika Kumaratunga
Preceded by	Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
Succeeded by	Mahinda Rajapaksa
In office 7 May 1993 – 18 August 1994
President	Dingiri Banda Wijetunga
Preceded by	Dingiri Banda Wijetunga
Succeeded by	Chandrika Kumaratunga
10th Leader of the Opposition
In office 22 April 2004 – 9 January 2015
Prime Minister	Mahinda Rajapaksa Ratnasiri Wickremanayake D. M. Jayaratne
Preceded by	Mahinda Rajapaksa
Succeeded by	Nimal Siripala de Silva
In office 28 October 1994 – 10 October 2001
Prime Minister	Sirimavo Bandaranaike Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
Preceded by	Gamini Dissanayake
Succeeded by	Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
Ministerial roles
2022–present	Minister of Defence Minister of Technology Minister of Finance Ministry of Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment
2015–2019	Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs
1989–1993	Minister of Industry Leader of the House
1980–1989	Minister of Education
1977–1980	Minister of Youth Affairs & Employment
1977	Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
Member of Parliament for National List
In office 23 June 2021 – 21 July 2022
Member of Parliament for Colombo District
In office 16 August 1994 – 3 March 2020
Member of Parliament for Gampaha District
In office 15 February 1989 – 16 August 1994
Personal details
Born	(1949-03-24) 24 March 1949 (age 75) Colombo, Dominion of Ceylon
Nationality	Sri Lankan
Political party	United National Party
Spouse	Maithree Wickremesinghe ​ ​ (m. 1994)​
Parents	Esmond Wickremesinghe Nalini Wickremesinghe
Relatives	Wijewardene family
Residence	115 Fifth Lane
Alma mater	Royal College, Colombo University of Ceylon
Profession	Attorney at law
Other offices held 2001–2019: Leader of the United National Front for Good Governance[a] 1989–1993: Leader of the House

Ranil Wickremesinghe (born 24 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician serving as the ninth and current President of Sri Lanka. He also holds several ministerial roles, including Minister of Finance, Minister of Defence, Minister of Technology and Minister of Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment. Wickremesinghe has led the United National Party (UNP) since 1994 and has been Prime Minister of Sri Lanka on six occasions.

Born into a political family, Wickremesinghe graduated from the University of Ceylon and qualified as an advocate from the Ceylon Law College in 1972. He entered politics in the mid-1970s with the UNP, first being elected to Parliament in 1977. Over the years, he held various ministerial positions, including Minister of Foreign Affairs, Youth Affairs and Employment, and Industry, Science and Technology. He first became Prime Minister in 1993 following the assassination of President Ranasinghe Premadasa.

Wickremesinghe ran unsuccessfully in the 1999 and 2005 presidential elections. In 2015, he was appointed Prime Minister by President Maithripala Sirisena, leading a coalition government until 2019. During his tenure, he faced a constitutional crisis in 2018 but was reappointed as Prime Minister after it was resolved. He lost his parliamentary seat in the 2020 parliamentary election but re-entered Parliament in 2021 as a National List MP.^[1]

In May 2022, Wickremesinghe was reappointed as Prime Minister amidst a political crisis.^[2][3][4] Following the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July 2022, Wickremesinghe became acting president^[5][6] and was subsequently elected as the 9th President of Sri Lanka by Parliament on 20 July 2022. He took office the following day.^[7][8][9]

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