46 Facts About Ranasinghe Premadasa

Sri Lankabhimanya Ranasinghe Premadasa was a Sri Lankan politician and statesman who served as the third President of Sri Lanka from 2 January 1989 until his assassination in 1993.

Ranasinghe Premadasa previously served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 6 February 1978 to 2 January 1989.

Ranasinghe Premadasa was the first person to be conferred with Sri Lanka's highest civilian award, the Sri Lankabhimanya in 1986 by President JR Jayewardene.

Ranasinghe Premadasa was born on 23 June 1924 at Dias Place, Colombo 11, to the family of Richard Ranasinghe of Kosgoda and Battuwita Jayasinghe Arachchige Ensina Hamine of Batuwita, Horana.

Ranasinghe Premadasa was the oldest of five children, three sisters, and one brother.

Ranasinghe Premadasa's father was engaged in the transport business in Colombo employing rickshaws.

Ranasinghe Premadasa received his early education at the Purwarama temple under Ven.

At age fifteen, Ranasinghe Premadasa started the Sucharita Children's Society, which later became the Sucharitha Movement, a volunteers organisation with the objectives of uplifting the economic, social and spiritual development of the low-income people living in shanty areas of the capital.

Ranasinghe Premadasa was the full-time organizer of the community development project in the area in 1939.

Goonesinghe, the founder leader of the Ceylon Labour movement, Ranasinghe Premadasa started his political career in 1946 joining the Ceylon Labour Party as a full-time member and campaigned for Goonesinghe in the 1947 general election.

In 1955, Premadasa succeeded T Rudra as Deputy Mayor and joined the United National Party in 1956 following the successful removal of N M Perera as Mayor of Colombo in February 1956.

Ranasinghe Premadasa was elected as the third Member of Parliament from Colombo Central in the March 1960 general election.

When Tiruchelvam resigned in 1968 after the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi left Dudley Senanayake's government, Ranasinghe Premadasa was promoted as Minister of Local Government and became a minister in Senanayake's cabinet.

Ranasinghe Premadasa was a member of the Constituent Assembly which drafted the constitution of 1972.

Ranasinghe Premadasa called for reforms of the party which Dudley Senanayake refused, resulting in Ranasinghe Premadasa resigning from the party working committee.

Ranasinghe Premadasa went on to form the Samastha Lanka Puravesi Peramuna, known generally as the Puravesi Peramuna or Citizens Front.

Jayawardane, who became UNP leader came to terms with Ranasinghe Premadasa, who stopped the Citizens Front and returned to fully support the UNP, driving up its membership at grassroot levels and becoming the Deputy Leader of the party.

Ranasinghe Premadasa was re-elected as the first member of parliament for Colombo Central in the general election in 1977 and was appointed the Leader of the House and the Minister of Local Government, Housing and Construction.

Ranasinghe Premadasa began to define the new role of the prime minister under an executive president.

Ranasinghe Premadasa took residence at Temple Trees, retained the use of the Prime Minister's Lodge and established a new prime minister's office at Sirimathipaya.

Ranasinghe Premadasa began representing Sri Lanka internationally, having led the Sri Lankan delegation to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 1979, where he secured British funding for the construction of the Victoria Dam.

Ranasinghe Premadasa headed the Sri Lankan delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in 1980 where he addressed the general assembly.

Ranasinghe Premadasa served as prime minister from 1978 to 1988, with little rifts with President Jayewardene with the exception of the latter's signed the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord.

Jayewardene decided to step down after his second term and Ranasinghe Premadasa was nominated as the party candidate for the presidential election set for December 1988.

Ranasinghe Premadasa was elected as the 2nd executive president of the country at the 1988 presidential election, gaining 2,569,199 votes and defeating former prime minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike, who came in second with 2,289,860 votes.

Ranasinghe Premadasa became the first non-Govigama politician to be appointed prime minister and elected president of Sri Lanka.

At the time he became president, the country faced both a civil war in the north and a communist insurgency in the south, both key issues Ranasinghe Premadasa concentrated on, with particularly ruthless actions against the insurgents.

Ranasinghe Premadasa concentrated on a grassroots-level economic development drive, focusing on the provision of housing, poverty alleviation and the upliftment of the poor.

Ranasinghe Premadasa encouraged the building of model villages with clean water, transport infrastructure, schools and health centres.

Ranasinghe Premadasa encouraged the establishment of small-scale industries in poor areas by giving factory owners low-interest loans and a share in textile quotas for the United States and Europe.

Ranasinghe Premadasa's handling of the country's civil war was less successful.

The Indian presence on the island was unpopular, and Ranasinghe Premadasa requested India to pull out its troops.

The 1990 massacre of Sri Lankan Police officers, which occurred after the policemen were asked to surrender to the LTTE in Batticaloa at Ranasinghe Premadasa's request, was later established to have been performed with the same weapons he had supplied them.

In September 1991, Ranasinghe Premadasa faced an impeachment attempt in parliament led by his two formidable rivals in the UNP, Lalith Athulathmudali and Gamini Dissanayake.

Ranasinghe Premadasa defeated the attempt by adjourning Parliament and Speaker M H Mohamed dismissed the impeachment stating a lack of signatures after several parliamentarians who supported the impeachment later withdrew their support after facing threats.

Ranasinghe Premadasa expelled Athulathmudali and Dissanayake from the party, who then went on to form their own political party, the Democratic United National Front.

In 1992, Ranasinghe Premadasa changed the country's English name from Sri Lanka to Shri Lanka on the advice of soothsayers, who predicted it would improve the country's fortunes.

Ranasinghe Premadasa was killed along with 23 others on 1 May, Saturday, 1993, around 12.45 pm during UNP's May Day rally in Colombo, by an LTTE suicide bomber.

The explosion took place at Armour Street-Grandpass Junction in Hulftsdorp, Colombo while President Ranasinghe Premadasa was unofficially supervising the procession as it was heading towards the Galle Face Green from Sugathadasa Stadium.

Ranasinghe Premadasa rode a bicycle towards the President, left it near the President's Range Rover and walked towards the President when security personnel attempted to stop him.

Ranasinghe Premadasa's death was only confirmed two hours later by his personal physician when the remains of the president were identified by his ring and watch.

Amongst Sri Lankans, Ranasinghe Premadasa has left behind a mixed legacy.

The Sri Lankabhimanya Ranasinghe Premadasa Memorial is a statue depicting Premadasa, which stands in Hulftsdorp, Colombo.

Ranasinghe Premadasa is the current Leader of the Opposition representing the Samagi Jana Balawegaya political party, a breakaway party of the United National Party his father once led.

Ranasinghe Premadasa married Hema Wickramatunge, the only daughter of Mr and Mrs Wickramatunge Arachchige Charles Appuhamy of Bandarawela on 23 June 1964.

Ranasinghe Premadasa lived and worked from his private residence and office, Sucharitha even during his tenure as prime minister and president.