Arish Mujawar, Pune
On Tuesday, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the newly appointed president of Sri Lanka, nominated Harini Amarasuriya, a college professor and novice politician, to be the country’s prime minister. Amarasuriya is the third woman to be selected for the position.
As Sri Lanka seeks to recover from its worst economic crisis in seventy years and its first debt default, Dissanayake, 55, has taken personal responsibility for the crucial finance portfolio as Sri Lanka attempts to emerge from its worst economic crisis in seventy years and its first default on debt. Mr. Dissanayake resigned as a member of parliament after winning the September 21 presidential election and taking over as the country’s top official; an NPP member took his place. The NPP Alliance is represented by three members of the 225-member legislature, which is set to be dissolved soon to make way for general elections.
The important departments of finance, energy, agriculture, and fisheries are under President Dissanayake’s leadership. Justice, Education, Health, and Trade are among the departments that Prime Minister Amarasuriya will oversee. Foreign affairs will be overseen, among other ministries, by MP Vijitha Herath, an official notification states.
Ms. Amarasuriya is the third woman prime minister to hold the office in Sri Lanka, following her daughter Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, who briefly held the post before winning the presidency, and Sirimavo Bandaranaike, one of the first female leaders in history.
After becoming a lecturer at the Open University of Sri Lanka, Ms. Amarasuriya, who has a background in anthropology, joined the NPP and was nominated to the Parliament in 2020 through the country’s “national list” system, which distributes seats to political parties based on their share of the vote.
A lot of people in Sri Lanka, including members of the opposition party, said they were happy that Ms. Amarasuriya had been selected to be prime minister. Congratulating you on your appointment, Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa wrote on social network “X”: “I hope your appointment will inspire women of Sri Lanka to bring their strength, talent, and vision to the forefront.”
The recently appointed prime minister of Sri Lanka holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Hindu College, University of Delhi. After earning her master’s degree in Australia, she went on to the University of Edinburgh to complete her doctoral studies.