27 Facts About Sajith Premadasa

Sajith Premadasa is the current Leader of the Opposition of Sri Lanka and a Member of Parliament for the Colombo District.

Sajith Premadasa is the current leader of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya.

Sajith Premadasa is the son of Ranasinghe Premadasa, president of Sri Lanka from 1989 to 1993.

Sajith Premadasa was educated at S Thomas' Preparatory School, Royal College, Colombo and Mill Hill School before entering the London School of Economics.

Sajith Premadasa was doing his postgraduate studies at the University of Maryland when his father was assassinated in 1993.

Sajith Premadasa was elected to parliament in 2000, representing the Hambantota District as a member the United National Party, his father's party, and was appointed Deputy Minister of Health in 2001, serving until 2004.

Sajith Premadasa was appointed deputy leader of the UNP in 2011 and was appointed Minister of Housing and Samurdhi in President Maithripala Sirisena's cabinet in 2015.

In 2024, Sajith Premadasa ran for president a second time, finishing in second place.

Sajith Premadasa was born on 12 January 1967 in Colombo to Ranasinghe Premadasa, who was Minister of Broadcasting and a Member of Parliament from the Colombo District at the time, and his wife Hema Premadasa.

Sajith Premadasa's father was elected as the President of Sri Lanka in 1988, having served as Prime Minister from 1977 to 1989.

Sajith Premadasa was schooled at S Thomas' Preparatory School and Royal College, he sat for his ordinary and advanced level examination at Mill Hill School, London.

Sajith Premadasa interned in the Foreign Relations Committee under US Senator Larry Pressler, a Republican from South Dakota.

Sajith Premadasa met many other influential senators, including John McCain and 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry.

Sajith Premadasa entered Sri Lankan politics following the assassination of his father in 1993.

Sajith Premadasa initiated the youth movement Tharuna Saviya, the People Development Foundation Jana Suwaya for poverty alleviation in Hambantota, and the Sasunata Aruna to aid Buddhist temples and Sunday schools in line with the 2600 Sambuddhathwa Jayanthi celebrations.

Sajith Premadasa was appointed as the Deputy Minister of Health under the premiership of Ranil Wickremesinghe in 2001 and remained until 2004 when the Wickremesinghe government was dissolved by President Chandrika Kumaratunga.

Sajith Premadasa was elected as the deputy leader of the United National Party in 2011, but was removed from the position in 2013.

The Sajith Premadasa faction gained strong support from fellow party members through successful rallies in Matara, Kurunegala and Matugama.

Sajith Premadasa was defeated by SLPP candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who campaigned on a pro-nationalistic, economic development and national security platform.

Sajith Premadasa was selected by his party as the prime ministerial candidate of the UNP on 30 January 2020.

Sajith Premadasa was named the leader of the alliance after a majority of party front liners backed him over UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Sajith Premadasa was appointed as the leader of the newly formed Samagi Jana Sandhanaya led by the Samagi Jana Balawegaya to contest in the 2020 parliamentary elections.

Sajith Premadasa refused an invitation by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to accept the premiership during the 2022 Sri Lankan political crisis.

Sajith Premadasa contested the 2024 presidential election as the candidate of Samagi Jana Balawegaya, against his former leader and incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe, and Anura Kumara Dissanayake, leader of National People's Power.

Sajith Premadasa came second behind Dissanayake with 4,363,035 votes in the first count of votes while Dissanayake gained 5,634,915 votes.

However, despite gaining 167,867 additional preference votes, Sajith Premadasa trailed behind Dissanayake, who won the election with 5,740,179 votes at the end of the second vote count.

Sajith Premadasa remained in 2nd with 4,530,902 votes, thus losing his second bid for presidency.