Ranasinghe Premadasa

Infobox_President
name =Ranasinghe Premadasa

|80px
imagesize =90px
order =3rd President of Sri Lanka
term_start =January 2, 1989
term_end =May 1, 1993
vicepresident =
predecessor =Junius Richard Jayawardene
successor =Dingiri Banda Wijetunga
order2 = 11th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
term_start2 = February 6 1978
term_end2 = March 3 1989
predecessor2 = Junius Richard Jayawardene
successor2 = Dingiri Banda Wijetunga
birth_date =birth date|1923|6|23|mf=y
birth_place =Colombo, Ceylon
death_date =death date and age|1993|5|1|1923|6|23|mf=y
death_place =Colombo, Sri Lanka (assassinated)
party =United National Party
spouse =Hema Premadasa
children =Sajith and Dulanjali
religion =Buddhism |

Ranasinghe Premadasa (June 23, 1924 - May 1, 1993) was the 3rd President of Sri Lanka from January 2, 1989 to May 1, 1993. Before that, he served as the Prime Minister in the government headed by J. R. Jayewardene from February 6, 1978 to January 1, 1989. He was assassinated in Colombo in a suicide bombing, by the LTTE. [ [http://www.cfr.org/publication/9242/ Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Backgrounder] Council on Foreign Relations - July 21, 2008] cite web|url=http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-08-20T005526Z_01_SP266487_RTRUKOC_0_UK-SRILANKA-SUICIDE.xml |title=Suicide bombers - weapon of choice for Sri Lanka rebels|author=Jonathan Lyons|date=August 20, 2006|publisher=Reuters]

Early life

Ranasinghe Premadasa came from a family of modest means, as such his political rise was resented by some of his rivals from the two or three Govigama caste families who had inherited political power, during and post British colonial rule. He attended St Joseph's College, Colombo which at that time had started an oriental languages course. Richard Ranasingha wished his son to follow this course. He originally planned to be a journalist, and translated an autobiography of Jawaharlal Nehru into Sinhala.

Premadasa was married to Hema Premadasa and had two children.Sajith and Dulanjali, his son, is the MP for Hambantota district.

Political career

Premadasa's entry into politics was made from the Labour Party, then headed by A.E.Goonesinghe. Having realized that the Labour Party in the 1950s didn't have a very promising future, Premadasa joined the moderate United National Party, and became the first non-Govigama politician to reach to the highest levels in democratic, post-independence Sri Lanka.

During his tenure as Minister of Broadcasting in Dudley Senanayake's cabinet, Premadasa turned Radio Ceylon, the oldest radio station in South Asia, into a public corporation - the Ceylon Broadcasting Corporation on 5 January 1967.

Part of his political program was shelter for the poor, after the United Nations declared a Year of Shelter. Other policies included Jana Saviya, the instrument he used to help the poor, a foster parents scheme, the Gam Udawa project with which he tried to stir up the stupor in the villages, the mobile secretariat whereby he took the central government bureaucracy to the peasants, the Tower Hall Foundation for drama and music, and the pension schemes he initiated for the elder artistes. On the economic front, the garment industry project that he initiated became a forerunner in earning foreign exchange and provision of employment in the villages. This was just one step in the direction of taking the economy to the outstations.

Presidency

Premadasa met with less success in dealing with Sri Lanka's civil war. When he assumed office, he faced a rebellion in the south from the hardline Sinhala-nationalist, Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna. The security forces brutally put down the revolt and killed many of its leaders. In the north, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam were facing off against the Indian Peace-Keeping Force. The Indian presence on the island was unpopular, and Premadasa requested India to leave. After they did in 1990, the government's war with the LTTE resumed, and resulted in stalemate.

Premadasa's supporters often point to the unostentatious life led by him in his simple residence away from his luxurious official residence, a man who perhaps travelled the least of any politicians at the helm. During his presidency, he also expelled from the UNP his two formidable Govigamacaste rivals Lalith Athulathmudali and Gamini Dissanayake, who then joined to form the Democratic United National Liberation Front (DUNLF).

Death

Ranasinghe Premadasa was killed on 1 May 1993, during a May day rally, by an LTTE suicide bomber. cite web|url=http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-08-20T005526Z_01_SP266487_RTRUKOC_0_UK-SRILANKA-SUICIDE.xml|title= Suicide bombers - weapon of choice for Sri Lanka rebels | author =Jonathan Lyons | date=August 20, 2006 | publisher = Reuters] [http://www.sinhaya.com/Thamilchelvams_sweet_talk_by_K_Godage.html]

References

External links

* [http://www.parliament.lk/handbook_of_parliament/prime_ministers.jsp Website of the Parliament of Sri Lanka]
* [http://www.unp.lk/portal/ Official Website of United National Party (UNP)]
* [http://www.rootsweb.com/~lkawgw/rprema.html Remembering Premadasa]
* [http://www.divaina.com/2008/08/04/mano03.html Methek Kathawa Divaina]