Sri lanka president ranasinghe premadasa

He was deeply concerned about the presence of the Indian Peace Keeping Force of overspread over the Nothern and Eastern Provinces. In fact getting rid of the IPKF had been one of his solemn election pledges as he considered its presence as an affront to the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka. The talks which lasted for well over one year turned out to an absolute farce enacted as usual by the LTTE as an interlude in its march to Eelam.

It was pretty obvious that the LTTE had betrayed the trust and confidence that the President had placed in it. President Premadasa during the talks in good faith genuinely believed that the LTTE would give up the separatist war of attrition in favour of greater autonomy for the Northern and Eastern Provinces and join the mainstream of democratic politics.

The JVP while not heeding to the call for an amicable negotiated settlement accelerated its campaign of death, destruction and mayhem virtually bringing the state machinery to a grinding halt. President Premadasa had no alternative other than to meet force with force. He gave the Armed Forces and Police a free hand to deal with the situation and the JVP insurrection was ruthlessly wiped out.

Even after two years into his Presidency of the three inherited scourges that sapped so much of his energy and wasted so much of valuable state assets and resources only two, namely the wiping out of the JVP and the dispatching of IPKF, had been resolved. Some of the factors responsible for his downfall were of his own seeking such as the impeachment, the style of governance, the media hype and his arrogant behavior.

The impeachment was the culmination of a class struggle between the English speaking aristocratic upper class clad in western dress and Sinhala speaking ordinary middle class clad in national costume. The impeachment was the brainchild of Gamini Dissanayake and Lalith Athulathmudali who were fairly longstanding UNP heavyweights vying to ascend the Executive Presidency.

They are said to have sri lanka president ranasinghe premadasa from grace because they did not pull their weight during the Presidential election campaign nor did they treat the President with due respect even thereafter. Consequently, in the allocation of Cabinet portfolios both Gamini and Lalith had a raw deal being shunted clean out of their traditional domains of Mahaveli and Land Development.

Collecting signatures for the Impeachment Motion was made easier with the imposition of wide ranging restrictions on travel abroad on official business by Ministers, MPs and Officials only three trips were allowed per year limiting the use of official vehicles down to three from thirty in some casessevere restrictions on use of the VIP Lounge at the Katunayake Airport to prevent smuggling of contraband and a complete ban on participating in embassy dinners, receptions etc.

These blows were further compounded by the fact that these restrictions were not made applicable to the President. Lawrence, Head of the Special Investigating Unit nicknamed "Gestapo" for investigation and report which was not only resented but feared especially by those who had skeletons in their cupboards. Premadasa as Minister and the Prime Minister was amenable, reasonable and precautionary in his dealings as well as in decision making.

The reasons for this are two fold; firstly as Executive President in waiting he had to be patient and mark time and secondly in terms of the Constitution the Prime Minister was only a figure head devoid of any powers and functions. As President, Premadasa was rather arrogant and dictatorial in his style of governance. This was inevitable considering the fact that the Executive President is the master of all he surveys being the Head of State, Head of Government, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and the Leader of the ruling political party.

He was vindictive and ruthlessly stalked his enemies. He expected one hundred percent loyalty from his Ministers, officials and friends. He distanced himself from some of his lifelong friends. He trusted his valet Mohideen so much that he was blissfully ignorant of the fact that Bhanu the designated LTTE assassin was in and out of his private residence at Sucharitha Mawatha procuring women and supplying foreign liquor to Mohideen and his clique.

On the contrary it was open, cut and dry and predictably straight forward.

Sri lanka president ranasinghe premadasa

His style of governance was reflected in some of the hard decisions he made such as forcefully prevailing on the Indian Government to withdraw the IPKF, declaring the British High Commissioner David Gladastone persona non grata and sending him home and sacking the Ministers and MPs who were the prime movers of the Impeachment Motion from the Cabinet, Parliament and the Party.

Of course he was mindful of the fact that these lethal blows would generate serious repercussions both nationally and internationally and the after shocks would be felt by him and the sri lanka president ranasinghe premadasa sooner or later. The campaign to slander Premadasa commenced with the Impeachment Motion which contained several false allegations such as abuse of power, violation of the Constitution, mental incapacity, dictatorial rule, misuse of state assets and last but not the least raping of a virgin every week in fulfillment of a vow.

When journalist Richard de Zoysa, a great buddy of David Gladstone, was killed the finger was pointed at President Premadasa; of course not without reason as armed men in full military uniform had taken him away from his house. When Major General Denzil Kobbekaduwa along with several senior army officers perished in the LTTE land mine explosion at Araly Point in Jaffna, President Premadasa was accused of plotting and planning the gruesome killings; the motive being to get rid of Denzil Kobbekaduwa a prospective candidate at the Presidential Election!!

Soon after the tragic event he summoned me to his private residence at Sucharitha Mawatha. He was shocked and surprised and seemed helpless and devastated. He knew that as usual his enemies would accuse him of plotting and planning the gruesome killing. I felt relieved because if the President had any hand in that dastardly act he would not have called for Scotland Yard assistance.

In hindsight, I have now come to the conclusion that the assassinations of both Lalith Athulathmudali and Premadasa were expertly masterminded by the LTTE both in respect of methodology and timing so that President Premadasa would suffer one week of mental torture before his demise. Premadasa was years of age when he reached his final goal of the seemingly elusive Executive Presidency.

It was indeed something very precious and hard to achieve. He wanted to fully exploit the vast potential under his command for the common good. He had a vision for the transformation of the country from rags to riches, from war to peace and from the abyss of social and moral degeneration to an exemplary, disciplined and law abiding society.

People may have misunderstood him but he was doing everything possible in good faith. As a firm believer in astrology he would have known that the time available to him was limited. Following his defeat, he joined J. Jayewardene working for the party reorganization under Dudley Senanayake and served as the secretary of the Religious Affairs Committee of the Buddhist Council appointed by the government to organize the th Buddha Jayanthi celebrations.

The march was disrupted at Imbulgoda by thugs led by S. Premadasa was elected as the third Member of Parliament from Colombo Central in the March general election. The short-lived Dudley Senanayake government was defeated in three months and in the July general election that followed he polled fourth in the three-member constituency of Colombo Central.

Inhe re-entered the Colombo Municipal Council having been elected from the Cinnamon Gardens Ward and served till During this time, he worked to open preschools for poor families and initiated vocational training centres in sewing and tailoring for the youth. Premadasa successfully contested the Colombo Central electorate in the general election and was elected to parliament and appointed as Chief Government Whip and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Local GovernmentM.

During his tenure, he instituted a bridges programme using pre-stressed concrete components, created the Maligawatta Housing Scheme and became known in the local governments across the island. In the following general electionPremadasa was elected as the first Member of Parliament for Colombo Central and sat in the opposition with J.

Jayewardene, the Leader of the Opposition. Premadasa was appointed Chief Opposition Whip. Premadasa was a member of the Constituent Assembly which drafted the constitution of Premadasa called for reforms of the party which Dudley Senanayake refused, resulting in Premadasa resigning from the party working committee. Building up the Citizens Front, he was in open conflict with Senanayake who had recently healed a rift with Jayawardane.

Amidst this conflict, Senanayake died on 13 April following a heart attack and Senanayake loyalists found fault with Premadasa. Jayawardane, who became UNP leader came to terms with 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.

Premadasa was re-elected as the first member of parliament for Colombo Central in the general election in and was appointed the Leader of the House and the Minister of Local Government, Housing and Construction. In the following year, when J. Jayewardene became the first executive president of Sri Lankahe appointed Premadasa as prime minister.

Premadasa began to define the new role of the prime minister under an executive president. He took residence at Temple Treesretained the use of the Prime Minister's Lodge and established a new prime minister's office at Sirimathipaya. He began representing Sri Lanka internationally, having led the Sri Lankan delegation to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting inwhere he secured British funding for the construction of the Victoria Dam.

He headed the Sri Lankan delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in where he addressed the general assembly. Continuing to sri lanka president ranasinghe premadasa the portfolios of Local Government, Housing and Construction, he initiated his political program, shelter for the poor, after the United Nations declared a Year of Shelter.

His proposal to declare as the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless was unanimously accepted at the 37th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Other policies included Jana Saviyathe 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. Premadasa served as prime minister from towith 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 Premadasa was nominated as the party candidate for the presidential election set for December Premadasa was elected as the 2nd executive president of the country at the presidential electiongaining 2, Premadasa became the first non- Govigama politician to be appointed prime minister and elected president of Sri Lanka.

Soon after being elected president, Premadasa dissolved parliament and called for fresh elections. In the parliamentary election in February the UNP gained seats in parliament, forming a government with a majority in parliament. 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 Premadasa concentrated on, with particularly ruthless actions against the insurgents.

Premadasa also concentrated on a grassroots-level economic development drive, focusing on the provision of housing, poverty alleviation and the upliftment of the poor. He encouraged the building of model villages with clean water, transport infrastructure, schools and health centres. He encouraged the establishment of small-scale industries mostly garment-related in poor areas by giving factory owners low-interest loans and a share in textile quotas for the United States and Europe.

Appointing Ranjan Wijeratne as Minister of Foreign Affairs and State Minister for Defence, Premadasa had Wijeratne clamp down on the JVP insurgent activity in the south which had been paralyzing the state machinery and economic activity of the sri lanka president ranasinghe premadasa since with its target killings, its unofficial curfews and work stoppages.

Operation Combine launched by Wijeratne successfully challenged the insurgency by brutally suppressing and killing its leaders, including JVP leader Rohana Wijeweera by late and effectively ending the insurrection by early His handling of the country's civil war was less successful. The Indian presence on the island was unpopular, and Premadasa requested India to pull out its troops.

The massacre of Sri Lankan Police officerswhich occurred after the policemen were asked to surrender to the LTTE in Batticaloa at Premadasa's request, was later established to have been performed with the same weapons he had supplied them. He defeated the attempt by adjourning Parliament and Speaker M. Mohamed dismissed the impeachment stating a lack of signatures after several parliamentarians who supported the impeachment later withdrew their support after facing threats.

InPremadasa changed the country's English name from Sri Lanka to Shri Lanka on the advice of soothsayerswho predicted it would improve the country's fortunes. Ranasinghe Premadasa was killed along with 23 others on 1 May, Saturday,around The suicide bomber was later identified as Kulaveerasingam Veerakumar alias 'Babu', a close friend of the President's valet E.

He 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. Despite this, Mohideen allowed him to get close to the President, when Veerakumar detonated the explosive device. Another 38 people were injured in the bombing including seven who were seriously wounded.

Confusion prevailed as it was unclear what had happened, with Premadasa and his security detail missing. His death was only confirmed two hours later by his personal physician when the remains of the president were identified by his ring and watch. The site of the explosion was cleaned within hours before a proper investigation was conducted.

The May Day parade continued even after the explosion for some time. Prime minister Dingiri Banda Wijetunga was sworn in as the acting president in the afternoon. The government did not announce the death of President Premadasa until 6 p. A period of national mourning was announced until the funeral. Police claimed that they recovered the severed head of a young man suspected to be the bomber, which was found to have a cyanide suicide capsule, bearing LTTE tradecraft in his mouth.

Amongst Sri Lankans, Premadasa has left behind a mixed legacy. While he was seen as a spokesperson of the poor, common man, his handling of the country's two civil conflicts, the JVP insurrection and the Sri Lankan Civil Warhave been heavily criticised. The R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadiumwhich was built under Premadasa's supervision instill remains named after him.

Ranasinghe Premadasa's son, Sajith Premadasawent on to become a politician in his own right. Sajith ran for presidency twice unsuccessfully in and winning He 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. They had a son, Sajithand a daughter, Dulanjali.

He lived and worked from his private residence and office, Sucharitha even during his tenure as prime minister and president. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item. President of Sri Lanka from to For people with the surname Ranasinghe, see Ranasinghe name.

His Excellency Sri Lankabhimanya. Hema Wickrematunge. Retrieved on 1 May Retrieved on 2 May The Washington Post. Colombo Telegraph. Retrieved on May 1, Sri Lanka Guardian. Retrieved May 1, Retrieved 1 May Ada Derana. Gen Gunaratne". The New Indian Express. Council of the European Union. Archived from the original on 27 May Retrieved 9 February Canadian Government.

Archived from the original on 19 November BBC News. Archived from the original on 24 May Retrieved 11 February Archived from the original on 27 June Retrieved 11 October Daily News. Archived from the original on 18 January Ministry of Defence, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 11 February Terrorism Act UK Public General Acts. Archived from the original on 21 January Government, Office of Counterterrorism.

Archived from the original on 17 November Front for Sri Lankan Terrorist Organization". Accounts of his assassination can be found in Sri Lanka newspapers. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. January 8, Retrieved January 08, from Encyclopedia. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list.

Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia. History Encyclopedias almanacs transcripts and maps Ranasinghe Premadasa. Ranasinghe Premadasa gale. Learn more about citation styles Citation styles Encyclopedia. More From encyclopedia.

About this article Ranasinghe Premadasa Updated About encyclopedia. Rana: The Legend of Shadow Lake. Rana ridibunda. Rana pipiens. Rana catesbiana. Ran, Shulamit —. Ran, Shulamit. Ramuz, Charles Ferdinand.