MAHINDA RAJAPAKSA
Now the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa is the god of Sri Lankan people. Under his leadership, Sri Lankan army gained the victory over LTTE terrorism. This victory was gained after nearly three decades of war against the most dangerous and ruthless terrorists in the world. More than 70,000 people have been killed in this bloody war. Many leaders were failed to remove the LTTE terrorism in Sri Lanka, but Rajapaksa gave support and strength to the Sri Lankan armed forces and the police to remove the terrorism and showed the world that terrorism is not unbeatable. To removing the terrorism, Rajapaksa creates a way for greater development and prosperity of Sri Lanka.
BIOGRAPHY
Mahinda Rajapaksa was born on November 18, 1945 in Weeraketiya in the southern rural district of Hambantota. He belongs to a famous 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 and his uncle D.M. Rajapaksa was a state counselor for Hambantota town. He gained his education from Richmond College, in the southern city of Galle and also in Nalanda College and Thurstan College in Colombo. Later he studied law at the Colombo Law College and qualified as an Attorney-at-Law. At the time of his student days in Colombo, he participated in many left wing and radical protest and agitation movements. In 1970, he was elected to the parliament as a SLFP member, and he was the youngest member of parliament at that time. He lost his parliamentary seat in 1977 and in 1989, he was re-elected to parliament to represent Hambantota District. In 1994, he was appointed as Minister of Labour of Chandrika Kumaratunga government. In 2004 parliamentary Elections, his party won a slim majority in parliament and Rajapaksa was swearing 13th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. In 2005 Presidential elections, he was defeated the former Prime Minister and Opposition Leader, Ranil Wickremasinghe and become the 5th President of Sri Lanka. As a President, he has initiated several major infrastructure development projects including the construction of the new harbor and international airport at Hambantota, at least four new highways linking the major cities of the country, a coal-fired thermal power station at Norochcholai in the North Western Province, a multi-fuel thermal power station at Kerawalapitiya in the Western Gampaha District and a hydro-power station at Upper Kotmale in the central hills. The development of Small and Medium Enterprises also receives considerable importance under the economic policies of the Rajapaksa presidency. He also took attention in IT filed and 400 IT centres to have been opened in the rural and semi-urban areas. The telecommunication facilities are also increased under his leadership. He always keeps friendly relations with all countries and strongly supportive of the United Nations and its initiatives for development and progress and seeking international cooperation in the fight against terror in Sri Lanka. He is a man of peace and a willing negotiator and always tries to remove LTTE terrorism from Sri Lanka. With his support and strength, Sri Lankan army succeeded to win the victory over LTTTE. In the victory speech, he said that this victory is the victory of Sri Lanka and the protection of Tamil population in this country is his responsibility and duty. Rajapaksa is married to a social worker Shiranthi Wickremasinghe and they has three sons Namal, Yoshitha and Rohitha. President Rajapaksa is also the lover of sports and great fans of cricket and rugby.