Mahinda Rajapaksa
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The Honorable Mahinda Rajapaksa MP |
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| 6th President of Sri Lanka | |
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In office 19 November 2005 – 9 January 2015 |
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| Prime Minister |
Ratnasiri Wickremanayake D. M. Jayaratne |
| Preceded by | Chandrika Kumaratunga |
| Succeeded by | Maithripala Sirisena |
| Prime Minister of Sri Lanka | |
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In office 6 April 2004 – 19 November 2005 |
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| President | Chandrika Kumaratunga |
| Preceded by | Ranil Wickremesinghe |
| Succeeded by | Ratnasiri Wickremanayake |
| Leader of the Opposition | |
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In office 6 February 2002 – 2 April 2004 |
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| President | Chandrika Kumaratunga |
| Prime Minister | Ranil Wickremesinghe |
| Preceded by | Ratnasiri Wickremanayake |
| Succeeded by | Ranil Wickremesinghe |
| Chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party | |
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In office 19 November 2005 – 15 January 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Chandrika Kumaratunga |
| Succeeded by | Maithripala Sirisena |
| Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development | |
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In office 1997–2001 |
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| President | Chandrika Kumaratunga |
| Minister of Finance | |
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In office 23 November 2005 – 9 January 2015 |
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| President | Himself |
| Preceded by | Sarath Amunugama |
| Succeeded by | Ravi Karunanayake |
| Minister of Labour | |
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In office 1994–1997 |
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| President | Chandrika Kumaratunga |
| 11th Chairperson-in-office of the Commonwealth of Nations | |
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In office 15 November 2013 – 9 January 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Tony Abbott |
| Succeeded by | Maithripala Sirisena |
| Member of the Sri Lanka Parliament for Kurunegala District |
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Assumed office 17 August 2015 |
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| Member of the Sri Lanka Parliament for Hambantota District |
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In office 15 February 1989 – 19 November 2005 |
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| Member of the Sri Lanka Parliament for Beliatta |
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In office 27 May 1970 – 21 July 1977 |
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| Preceded by | D.P. Atapattu |
| Succeeded by | Ranjit Atapattu |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa 18 November 1945 Weerakatiya, Southern Province, British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Political party | Sri Lanka Freedom Party |
| Other political affiliations |
United People's Freedom Alliance (2004 – Present) People's Alliance (1994 – 2004) |
| Spouse(s) |
Shiranthi Rajapaksa (née Wickremesinghe) |
| Children |
Namal Yoshitha Rohitha |
| Alma mater |
Richmond College Nalanda College Colombo Thurstan College Sri Lanka Law College |
| Profession | Politician, Lawyer |
| Religion | Theravada Buddhism |
| Website | Official website |
Percy Mahendra "Mahinda" Rajapaksa, MP (Sinhalese: මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ (පර්සි මහේන්ද්ර රාජපක්ෂ), pronounced [maˈhində ˈraːɟəˌpakʂə], Tamil: மகிந்த ராசபக்ச; born 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the sixth President of Sri Lanka from 19 November 2005 to 9 January 2015. A lawyer by profession, Rajapaksa was first elected to the Parliament of Sri Lanka in 1970, and he served as Prime Minister from 6 April 2004 until his victory in the 2005 presidential election. He was sworn in for his first six-year term as President on 19 November 2005. He was re-elected for a second term on 27 January 2010. He was defeated in his bid for a third term in the 2015 presidential election by Maithripala Sirisena and left office on 9 January 2015.
Several months after leaving office, Rajapaksa unsuccessfully sought to become Prime Minister in the 2015 parliamentary election, where the United People's Freedom Alliance was defeated. He however, was elected as Member of Parliament for Kurunegala District.
Mahinda Rajapaksa was born in Weeraketiya in the southern rural district of Hambantota. He hails from a well known political family in Sri Lanka. His father, D. A. Rajapaksa, was a prominent politician, independence agitator, Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister of Agriculture and Land in Wijeyananda Dahanayake's government. D. M. Rajapaksa, his uncle, was a State Councillor for Hambantota in the 1930s who started wearing the earthy brown shawl to represent kurakkan (finger millet) cultivated by the people of his area, whose cause he championed throughout his life. It is from his example that Rajapaksa wears his characteristic shawl.
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