Chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party
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Sri Lanka Freedom Party
ශ්රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂය இலங்கை சுதந்திரக் கட்சி |
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| Chairperson | Maithripala Sirisena |
| Secretary-General | Duminda Dissanayake |
| Founder | S.W.R.D Bandaranaike |
| Founded | September 2, 1951 |
| Split from | United National Party |
| Preceded by | Sinhala Maha Sabha |
| Headquarters | 307 T. B. Jayah Mawatha, Colombo 10 |
| Newspaper | Singhale, Dinakara |
| Youth wing | SLFP Youth Front |
| Ideology |
Social democracy Sinhalese nationalism Political Buddhism |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| National affiliation |
United People's Freedom Alliance (2004 – Present) People's Alliance (1994 – 2004) |
| Colors | Blue |
| Parliament of Sri Lanka |
80 / 225
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| Sri Lankan Provincial Councils |
269 / 417
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| Local Government |
2,611 / 4,327
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| Election symbol | |
Hand
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| Website | |
| www |
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The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (Sinhalese: ශ්රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂය Sri Lanka Nidahas Pakshaya, Tamil: இலங்கை சுதந்திரக் கட்சி) is one of the major political parties in Sri Lanka. It was founded by S.W.R.D Bandaranaike in 1951 and, since then, has been one of the two largest parties in the Sri Lankan political arena. It first came to power in 1956 and since then has been the predominant party in government on a number of occasions. The party is generally considered as having a democratic socialist or progressive economic agenda and is often associated with nationalist Sinhala parties. The Sri Lanka Freedom Party is a main constituent party in the United People's Freedom Alliance.
After independence, the SLFP represented a form of non-revolutionary socialism and a policy of non-alignment with strong ties to socialist countries. Its social democratic and nationalist policies in the aftermath of Sri Lankan independence supported its rapid rise towards attaining major party status alongside the centre-right United National Party. Founding leader, S.W.R.D Bandaranaike stated that the basis of the party would be the ‘Pancha Maha Balavegaya’ (Five Great Forces) which consisted of the native doctors, clergy, teachers, farmers and workers.
After winning 9 seats in the 1952 parliamentary election, leader S.W.R.D Bandaranaike contested the 1956 election on a platform of giving true meaning to the independence achieved in 1948. This involved a nationalist, democratic and socialist programme which saw the SLFP achieve a huge victory at the 1956 elections and is seen by many observers as a social revolution resulting in the eclipse of the Westernized elite.
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