In the political history of Sri Lanka, Ratnasiri Wickremanayake is one of the names the record keeps returning to.
The record lists Ratnasiri Wickremanayake as Sri Lankan politician (1933–2016).
Ratnasiri Wickremanayake was born at British Ceylon in 1933. His recorded nationality is Sri Lanka. He was educated at Hartley College and Ananda College.
Twentieth-century politics was conducted under the shadow of two world wars, decolonisation and the Cold War, and broadcast to electorates that could watch it happen.
He served as Member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (2005–2010) and Leader of the Opposition (2001–2002).
His political affiliation is recorded as Sri Lanka Freedom Party.
What survives of a political career is usually not the speeches but the institutions left behind.
That the career was made in Sri Lanka is not incidental: the institutions available, the franchise, and the constraints of the moment all shaped what could be attempted.
Ratnasiri Wickremanayake died in 2016, aged 83. The assessment continues, as it does for anyone who held power - which is the ordinary fate of a political life.
Achievements
- Member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka
- Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (2005–2010)
- Leader of the Opposition (2001–2002)
- Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (2000–2001)
- Educated at Hartley College and Ananda College
