Ratnasiri Wickremanayake

The Honourable Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
Wickremanayake in 2009
Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
In office 19 November 2005 – 21 April 2010
President	Mahinda Rajapaksa
Preceded by	Mahinda Rajapaksa
Succeeded by	D. M. Jayaratne
In office 10 August 2000 – 9 December 2001
President	Chandrika Kumaratunga
Preceded by	Sirimavo Bandaranaike
Succeeded by	Ranil Wickremesinghe
Leader of the Opposition
In office 18 December 2001 – 31 January 2002
President	Chandrika Kumaratunga
Prime Minister	Ranil Wickremesinghe
Preceded by	Ranil Wickremesinghe
Succeeded by	Mahinda Rajapakse
Personal details
Born	5 May 1933
Died	27 December 2016 (aged 83) Colombo, Sri Lanka
Political party	Sri Lanka Freedom Party
Other political affiliations	United People's Freedom Alliance
Spouse(s)	Kusum Wickremanayake
Profession	Politician
Religion	Theravada Buddhism

Ratnasiri Wickremanayake (Sinhalese: රත්නසිරි වික්‍රමනායක, Tamil: ரத்னசிறி விக்கிரமநாயக்க; 5 May 1933 – 27 December 2016) was a Sri Lankan politician who was Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2000 to 2001 and again from 2005 to 2010. He was a National List member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.

Wickremanayake held many ministerial positions in the Sri Lankan government, beginning in 1970.

Wickremanayake was educated in Millewa Primary School, Dharmapala Vidyalaya, Pannipitiya, Hartley College, Point Pedro and Ananda College, Colombo and later as a student joined Lincoln's Inn to become a Barrister of Law, but ultimately chose to enter politics rather than appear for the exam. During his time in United Kingdom he was elected president of the Ceylon Students' Association in the United Kingdom in 1955.

Wickremanayake entered politics in 1960. He was elected to the legislature in 1960, from Horana for the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (then a part of the People's United Front alliance). Wickremanayake joined the SLFP in 1962. He was re-elected twice (in 1965 and 1970) to the legislature for Horana from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).

Wickremanayake received his first ministerial appointment in 1970, when he was appointed Deputy Minister for Justice in the United Front government under Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike. In 1975, Wickremanayake was appointed Minister of Plantation Industries and the next year was also Minister of Justice. Wickremanayake lost his Parliamentary seat in the landslide defeat of the SLFP in the general elections of 1977. He became General Secretary of the SLFP in 1978.