Maithripala Sirisena | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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මෛත්රීපාල සිරිසේන மைத்திரிபால சிறிசேன | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() Sirisena in 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
7th President of Sri Lanka | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 9 January 2015 – 18 November 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Prime Minister | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Mahinda Rajapaksa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Gotabaya Rajapaksa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Minister of Defence | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 12 January 2015 – 18 November 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
President | Himself | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Prime Minister |
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Preceded by | Mahinda Rajapaksa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Gotabaya Rajapaksa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Minister of Mahaweli Development and Environment[N 1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 12 January 2015 – 18 November 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
President | Himself | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Prime Minister | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Susil Premajayantha | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 23 November 2005 – 23 April 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
President | Mahinda Rajapaksa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Prime Minister | Ratnasiri Wickremanayake | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Pallewatte Gamaralage Maithripala Yapa Sirisena 3 September 1951 Yagoda, Dominion of Ceylon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Citizenship | Sri Lankan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nationality | Sri Lankan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Political party | Sri Lanka Freedom Party (since 1968) Communist Party of Ceylon (1966–1968) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other political affiliations | Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance (2019–2022) United People's Freedom Alliance (2004–2019)[N 3] New Democratic Front (2014–2015)[N 4] People's Alliance (1994–2004) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spouse | Jayanthi Pushpa Kumari | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Children |
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Alma mater | Maxim Gorky Literature Institute | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation | Politician | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Signature | ![]() | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Maithripala Yapa Sirisena (Sinhala: පල්ලෙවත්ත ගමරාළලාගේ මෛත්රීපාල යාපා සිරිසේන; Tamil: பல்லேவத்த கமராளலாகே மைத்திரிபால யாப்பா சிறிசேன; born 3 September 1951) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the seventh President of Sri Lanka from 9 January 2015 to 18 November 2019.[2][3] Sirisena is Sri Lanka's first president from the North Central Province of the country and does not belong to the traditional Sri Lankan political elite.[4] He is currently a member of parliament from Polonnaruwa.
Sirisena joined mainstream politics in 1989 as a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka and has held several ministries since 1994.[5] He was the general-secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and was Minister of Health until November 2014 when he announced his candidacy in the 2015 presidential election as the opposition coalition's "common candidate", thus leading to him running against party leader and incumbent president Mahinda Rajapaksa.[6][7] His victory in the election was generally viewed as unexpected, coming to office through the votes won from the alternative Sinhala-majority rural constituency and the Tamil and Muslim minority groups that were alienated by the Rajapaksa government on post-war reconciliation and growing sectarian violence.[4][8][9][10] Maithripala Sirisena pledged to implement a 100-day reform program where he promised to rebalance the executive branch within 100 days of being elected, by reinforcing Sri Lanka's judiciary and parliament, to fight corruption and to investigate allegations of war crimes from 2009, repeal the controversial eighteenth amendment, re-instate the seventeenth amendment and appoint UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister.[11][12][13] He later was reported to have publicly disavowed this program, claiming that he did not know where it originated.[14][15]
Sirisena was sworn in as the sixth Executive President before Supreme Court judge K. Sripavan in Independence Square, Colombo at 6:20 p.m. on 9 January 2015.[16][17] Immediately afterwards he appointed Ranil Wickremesinghe as the new prime minister.[18][19] After being sworn in Sirisena stated that he would only serve one term.[20] Sirisena voluntarily transferred significant presidential powers to parliament on 28 April.[21][22]
In 2018, Sirisena appointed the former president Mahinda Rajapaksa (his former rival) as the prime minister, wrote a letter firing Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe (with whose major support he became the president in 2015) and prorogued Parliament, all in apparent contradiction to the Constitution of Sri Lanka, instigating a constitutional crisis.[23][24][25] This marks Sirisena's second and most successful attempt to bring Rajapaksa to power.[26][27]
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