Who is Harini Amarasuriya? Sri Lanka's Second Woman Prime Minister After 25 Years

Harini Amarasuriya was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Sri Lanka on Tuesday. With this, she became the second woman leader to hold this post after Sirimavo Bandaranaike in the year 2000. 54-year-old National People's Power (NPP) leader Amarasuriya was sworn in by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Dissanayake has appointed a cabinet of four members including herself. Amarasuriya has been given charge of the ministries of Justice, Education, Labor, Industry, Science and Technology, Health and Investment. She has replaced Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, who resigned from his post after the presidential election.

NPP MPs - Vijitha Herath and Lakshman Nipunaarachchi were sworn in as cabinet ministers. They will work as caretaker cabinet ministers after the dissolution of Parliament. Officials said parliamentary elections could be held at the end of November. After winning the presidential election, 56-year-old Dissanayake was sworn in as the ninth President of Sri Lanka on Sunday.

Who is Harini Amarasuriya?

Born on March 6, 1970, Harini Amarasuriya is an NPP MP and the 16th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. She is the third woman to reach this position. Before her, Sirimavo Bandaranaike and Chandrika Kumaratunga have become PM. Amarasuriya has become the first woman Prime Minister of the country after almost 25 years. Bandaranaike's third and last term was from November 1994 to August 2000. Amarasuriya became a Member of Parliament through NPP in 2020.

She has been a university professor and an activist by profession. Her educational qualifications include BA (Hons) in Sociology, Masters in Anthropology and Development Studies and PhD in Social Anthropology. She has a doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. The Sri Lankan Parliament website shows that in the ninth parliament (2020-2024) she was present for 269 days and absent for 120 days. Amarasuriya is the first academician to become Prime Minister in Sri Lanka.