Gamini Dissanayake
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The Honourable Gamini Dissanayake MP |
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| Leader of the Opposition | |
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In office 25 August 1994 – 24 October 1994 |
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| President | Dingiri Banda Wijetunga |
| Prime Minister | Chandrika Kumaratunga |
| Preceded by | Sirimavo Bandaranaike |
| Succeeded by | Ranil Wickremesinghe |
| Member of the Sri Lankan Parliament for Nuwara Eliya-Maskeliya |
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In office 1977–1988 |
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| Preceded by | Constituency Established |
| Succeeded by | Constituency Abolished |
| Member of the Sri Lankan Parliament for Nuwara Eliya |
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In office 1970–1977 |
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| Preceded by | D.J. Ranaweera |
| Succeeded by | Constituency Abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 March 1942 Kandy, Sri Lanka |
| Died | 24 October 1994 (aged 52) Colombo, Sri Lanka (assassinated) |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Spouse(s) | Shrima Dissanayake |
| Children | Navin, Mayantha, Varuni. |
| Alma mater |
Trinity College, Kandy, Cambridge University, UK |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Religion | Buddhist |
Dissanayake Mudiyanse Ralahamilage Lionel Gamini Dissanayake (known as Gamini Dissanayake; Sinhalese: ලයනල් ගාමිණි දිසානායක,Tamil: காமினி திஸாநாயக்க; 20 March 1942 – 24 October 1994) was a prominent Sri Lankan politician, a powerful minister of the United National Party, and Leader of the Opposition. He was designated as the UNP candidate in the 1994 presidential election, but was then assassinated by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
He was born in Kandy as the eldest son of a family of seven children to Andrew Dissanayake who served as an MP and a deputy minister in the Sri Lanka Freedom Party government of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike. His mother, Welegedara Samaratunga Kumarihamy of Kotmale. Born and bred in Kotmale, his basic values were cultivated in this rural milieu social surrounding and environment. The wealthy Dissanayake family resided in both Kandy as well as Nuwara Eliya. Dissanayake had his schooling at the prestigious Trinity College in Kandy, and received his tertiary education at the Sri Lanka Law College. Later in life, he completed an MPhil Degree in International Relations at Cambridge University UK.
Gamini Dissanayake won the 1970 elections and became a member of parliament under UNP cadidature and was among one of the 18 UNP members in the parliament at a time when his party has faced an humiliating defeat. He comfortably secured his Nuwaraeliya-Maskeliya multielectorate seat in the 1977 elections and was appointed as the minister of Mahaweli Development. Dissanyake spearheaded the Mahaweli Development Project. This was a huge project which was expected to take 30 years to finish. But due to Dissanayake's skills he managed to finish the project within 6 years. The Mahaweli Development Project is the largest development project conducted in Sri Lanka after independence. The whole country was affected by the project which focused on irrigation, hydro power generation, agriculture, town & country development. Further it was criticised by the time as to introduce shinhala population into Tamil's motherland. Majority of the power generated for the local consumption is generated from these hydropower plants while an overwhelming majority of the rice cultivation in Sri Lanka is conducted in these Mahaweli areas. He was the chairperson of the Sri Lanka Cricket Board in the early 1980s and helped his country to gain the Test Status in cricket. He played a pivotal role in signing the Indoo-Lanka Peace Accord in 1987. In 1989 he was re elected as a MP from Nuwaraeliya District securing the highest percentage of preferential votes obtained by any UNP MP. He was the Minister of Estate Development during Premadasa regime. He was not awarded a portfolio in 1990 cabinet reshuffle and remained as a back-seat MP in the parliament. Dissanayake was accused of abduction of Prof. Ralph Bultjens. Prof Rohan Goonarathne in an interview with Hasitha Kuruppu told that Dissanayake did that as Bultjens in his lectures accused Dissanayake for swindling of money. Later he was acquitted from the courts. He played a major role in the aborted impeachment motion against President Premadasa and as a result was expelled from UNP in 1992. In the same year Dissanayaka joined Lalith Athulathmudali to form United National Democratic Front (DUNF) which was a rising political force of that era. Dissanayaka contested to Kandy District at 1993 provincial council elections and became a member of the Central Provincial Council. After the assassination of Athulathmudali, Dissanayake became the leader of DUNF. Later he rejoined UNP and was appointed to the parliament as a national list MP and was offered a vital portfolio in the Wijethunga Government. In 1994 PA came to power defeating UNP when Dissanayaka was re elected as a member of parliament from Kandy District. In a contest held among UNP MPs to choose the opposition leader Dissanayaka recorded a comfortable victory over Ranil Wickramasinghe.
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