D. M. Jayaratne

Honourable D. M. Jayaratne MP
Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 April 2010
President	Mahinda Rajapaksa
Preceded by	Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
Minister of Agriculture
In office 2000–2001
Minister of Posts, Telecommunications & Upcountry Development
In office 2004–2007
Minister of Plantations
In office 2007–2010
Minister of Buddhasasana & Religious Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office 2010
Member of the Sri Lanka Parliament for Kandy District
In office 1989–2001
In office 2004–2010
Member of the Sri Lanka Parliament for National List
In office 2001–2004
Incumbent
Assumed office 2010
Personal details
Born	June 7, 1931 (1931-06-07) (age 80)
Nationality	Sri Lankan
Political party	Sri Lanka Freedom Party
Other political affiliations	United People's Freedom Alliance
Residence	121 Wijerama Road, Colombo 07
Religion	Buddhist

Disanayaka Mudiyanselage Jayaratne MP (known as D. M. "Di Mu" Jayaratne;^[1] Sinhala: දිසානායක මුදියන්සේලාගේ ජයරත්න; born June 7, 1931^[2]) is the 20th and current Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, and a veteran Sri Lankan politician. A founding member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, Jayaratne was first elected to parliament in 1970. He was sworn in as Prime Minister on April 21, 2010.^[3]

Early life

D. M. Jayaratne was born on June 7, 1931. He was educated at Doluwa Maha Vidyalaya in Gampola, a town just outside Kandy. He was a student at the Faculty of Arts, University of Peradeniya during the mid-1950s^{[citation needed]}. Following the founding of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party in Kandy in 1951 by S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, Jayaratne worked as a teacher at Doluwa Maha Vidyalaya. He later worked as Postmaster at Doluwa from 1960 to 1962.^[4]

Politics

Jayaratne first entered parliament following the 1970 general election, obtaining 14,463 votes as the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) candidate in the Gampala electorate, and defeating W.P.B. Dissanayake of the United National Party (UNP).^[5] He was subsequently defeated by Dissanayake in the 1977 election in which just 8 members of the SLFP were returned to parliament.^[6] He was again re-elected to parliament in 1989 from the Kandy District under the new preferential voting system. He obtained 54,290 preferential votes, topping the SLFP list in the Kandy District.^[4]

Re-elected to parliament under the People's Alliance in 1994, Jayaratne was appointed Minister of Land, Agriculture and Forestry by President Chandrika Kumaratunga, entering the cabinet for the first time.^[4]

Cabinet Ministries held

• Land, Agriculture and Forestry - 1994-2000
• Agriculture, Food and Cooperatives - 2000-2001
• Post and Telecommunication; Upcountry Development - 2004-2005
• Post and Telecommunication; Rural Economic Development - 2005-2007
• Plantation Industries 2007-2010

Prime minister

Following the election victory of the United People's Freedom Alliance at the 2010 general election, Jayaratne, the most senior member of the SLFP, was sworn in as Prime Minister on April 21, 2010. Under the current constitution of Sri Lanka, the Prime Ministership is largely a ceremonial post. Along with it, he will also hold the ministry Buddha Sasana (Buddhism) and Religious Affairs.^[7]

See also

• List of political families in Sri Lanka
• Cabinet of Sri Lanka

References

• "D.M. JAYARATNE". Directory of Members. Parliament of Sri Lanka. http://www.parliament.lk/directory_of_members/ViewMember.do?memID=92. 

1. ^ http://www.priu.gov.lk/news_update/Current_Affairs/ca201004/20100421new_prime_minister.htm
2. ^ Parliament profile
3. ^ D.M Jayaratne sworn in as PM, Daily Mirror, 2010-04-21
4. ^ ^{a b c} "Sri Lanka's new Prime Minister is D. M Jayaratne". News.lk. 1931-06-07. http://news.lk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14847&Itemid=44. Retrieved 2010-04-21. 
5. ^ "Results Of Parliamentary General Election -1970". Department of Elections. http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1970%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF. Retrieved 2010-04-21. 
6. ^ "Results Of Parliamentary General Election -1977". Department of Elections. http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_General_1977.PDF. Retrieved 2010-04-21. 
7. ^ http://adaderana.lk/news.php?nid=7906

Political offices
Preceded by Ratnasiri Wickremanayake	Prime Minister of Sri Lanka 2010–present	Incumbent

Persondata
Name	Jayaratne, D. M.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1931-06-07
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death