Anura Kumara Dissanayake | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක அநுர குமார திசாநாயக்க | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Dissanayake in 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10th President of Sri Lanka | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 23 September 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Harini Amarasuriya | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Ranil Wickremesinghe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Dissanayaka Mudiyanselage Anura Kumara Dissanayake (1968-11-24)24 November 1968 (age 56) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | National People's Power | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other political affiliations | Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Mallika Dissanayake | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Residence(s) | 462/20, Pannipitiya Road, Pelawatte, Battaramulla | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of Kelaniya Thambuttegama Central College Thambuttegama Gamini Primary School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Politician | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Profession | Student union leader | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Signature |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This article is part of a series on the |
| Politics of Sri Lanka |
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Anura Kumara Dissanayake[b] (born 24 November 1968), commonly referred to by his initialsAKD, is a Sri Lankan politician who has served as the tenthpresident of Sri Lanka since 2024.[1][2][3][4] Dissanayake is the first Sri Lankan president to be elected in a second round of vote counting,[5][6] and the first not to be a member of the traditionalpolitical parties of Sri Lanka.[7] He is also the ninth executive president of Sri Lanka, a constitutional distinction that separates the executive presidency established in 1978 from the earlier non-executive presidency.[8][9][10]
Born on 24 November 1968 in the village of Galewela in theCentral Province of Sri Lanka, Dissanayake moved with his family to the village of Thambuththegama in the North Central Province in 1972.[11] While he was a student at theUniversity of Peradeniya, he joined theSocialist Students Union, thestudent wing of theJanatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) as a student when theIndo-Sri Lanka Accord was signed in 1987[12] and engaged in clandestinerevolutionary activity until he was forced to go underground due to threats posed by thecounterinsurgency operations undertaken by the government. A year later, he transferred to theUniversity of Kelaniya. After he was awarded his bachelor's degree in science at the University of Kelaniya in 1995, he was elected the national organiser of theSocialist Students Union in 1997.[13]
Dissanayake was selected to the Central Committee of the JVP in 1997.[14] He was then appointed to the JVP Political Bureau in 1998[15] and enteredparliament from thenational list in 2000. He was elected to parliament in2004 from theKurunegala District with the highest number of preferential votes and served asminister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation from 2004 to 2005. In 2008, he was appointed the leader of the JVP in parliament. He entered again Parliament through the national list in 2010. In 2014, he became the leader of the JVP[16] and was elected to Parliament from theColombo District in2015. He served asChief Opposition Whip from 2015 to 2018 and was selected as the most active Member of Parliament continuously for five years in a row. In 2019, he became the founding leader of theNational People's Power (NPP).[17]
Dissanayake ran for president in the2019 presidential election and came in third place with 3% of the vote. He ran again in2024 and was elected as President of Sri Lanka on 22 September 2024, becoming the first president to be elected from athird party.[18]
Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Anura Kumara Dissanayake was born on 24 November 1968 in the village ofDewahuwa, Matale District, Central Province, Sri Lanka.[19][unreliable source?][14] His father who was an agricultural worker who later joined the surveyor's department as an office aide[20][21] and his mother was a housewife. He has one sister.[22] An avid reader, his favorites include works byLeo Tolstoy andMaxim Gorky. He has claimed to be inspired by personalities such asMarx,Engels,Lenin,Gandhi,Tito andCastro.[20]
His family moved to theAnuradhapura District in theNorth Central Province and settled in Thambuththegama.[20] Dissanayake received his education at Thambuththegama Gamini Maha Vidyalaya and then Thambuththegama Central College, and became the first student from the college to gain university entrance to theUniversity of Peradeniya.[22]
Since his school days, Dissanayake had been involved with the JVP, which had been banned in 1983. Following the signing of theIndo-Sri Lanka Accord, the JVP launched itssecond insurrection against the Sri Lankan Government, and in 1987 a 19-year-old Dissanayake formally joined the JVP with his first cousin Sunil Dissanayake (Sunil Aiya), who convinced him to join while waiting for his GCE (AL) examination results. After gaining admission to the University of Peradeniya, Dissanayake moved toKandy and spent most of his time engaged in the clandestine political activity of the JVP. Adopting the nom de guerreAravinda, he undertook revolutionary work for the JVP and its military wing, theDeshapremi Janatha Vyaparaya (DJV). Dissanayake served as a courier between the various JVP cells. As the government stepped upcounterinsurgency measures to suppress the JVP and the DJV, Dissanayake's cousin Sunil Dissanayake was arrested, tortured, and killed. Dissanayake fled from Peradeniya and went into hiding, as he soon became a wanted man. The newly built modest brick house of his relatively apolitical family was burnt down as a warning to Dissanayake. He dropped out of university and managed to survive by going underground. Much of the JVP leadership was hunted down and killed, except forSomawansa Amarasinghe who fled into exile in Europe with Indian assistance.[20][22]
After the counterinsurgency against the JVP subsided and the situation became safe, Dissanayake came out of hiding and transferred to theUniversity of Kelaniya in 1992, where he completed his studies and graduated in 1995 with aBachelor of Science degree.[23][20]
Following the JVP's support forChandrika Kumaratunga via its proxy the Sri Lanka Progressive Front in the1994 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, Kumaratunga's government lifted the ban on the JVP and the party re-entered mainstream politics under Somawansa Amarasinghe. Many members of the party soon became vocal critics of the Kumaratunga government. Dissanayake, who has served as a secure courier for Amarasinghe,[24] soon came under his wing. After graduating from university in 1995, Dissanayake was appointed the National Organiser of the JVP-backedSocialist Students Union, and soon took control of theInter University Students' Federation.
He was then appointed to the Central Working Committee of the JVP in 1996 andpolitburo of the JVP in 1998. Dissanayake worked as a student union organiser, expanding pro-JVPstudents' unions and establishing itself in most Sri Lankan universities and institutions of higher studies.[24][23]
Dissanayake entered parliament following the2000 Sri Lankan parliamentary election from thenational list of the JVP and was reappointed following the2001 Sri Lankan parliamentary election.
In 2004, the JVP allied with theSri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), contesting as a part of theUnited People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) in the2004 parliamentary elections and won 39 seats in parliament. Dissanayake was elected to parliament from theKurunegala District from the UPFA and was appointed by President Kumaratunga asMinister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation in the jointSLFP–JVP cabinet in February 2004.[25] During his tenure, he took over the maintenance of theKandy Lake to the Irrigation Department and restored it.[26]
He resigned from his ministerial portfolio on 16 June 2005, along with the other JVP ministers, following JVP leader Amerasinghe's decision to withdraw from the UPFA due to their opposition to President Kumaranatunga's controversial jointtsunami relief co-ordination with theLTTE in theNorth andEastern provinces, also known as thePost-Tsunami Operational Management Structure (P-TOMS).[27][28]
On 2 February 2014, during the 17th National Convention of the JVP, Dissanayake was named as the new leader of the JVP, succeedingSomawansa Amarasinghe.[29] Following his election as the leader, he apologised for the killings by the JVP during the second insurrection.[30]
Following the2015 parliamentary election, he served asChief Opposition Whip from September 2015 to December 2018.[31]
On 18 August 2019, theNational People's Power, a political alliance led by the JVP, announced that Dissanayake would be its presidential candidate in the2019 presidential elections. Dissanayake came in third place with 3% of the vote, receiving 418,553 votes.[32]
On 29 August 2023, the NPP announced that Dissanayake would run for president again in2024.[33] The first vote count concluded with Dissanayake winning a plurality of the vote with 42.31%, followed bySJB candidateSajith Premadasa with 32.76%. Since no candidate won a majority, a second round of vote counting was held.[34] Dissanayake was declared the winner after the second count, securing 55.89% of the vote.[35][36]
Dissanayake's victory was largely attributed to the dissatisfaction of the previous governments amidst the nation'songoing economic crisis.[37] As Dissanayake was the first president to be elected without winning a majority of the vote in the first count, he has been described as a "minority president" by some political commentators.[38]Tamil National Alliance MPM. A. Sumanthiran congratulated Dissanayake on what he claimed as "a victory without relying on racial or religious chauvinism, a key factor that set his campaign apart."[39]
"I am not a magician, I am a common citizen,"
Dissanayake was inaugurated as president at thepresidential secretariat on 23 September 2024. In his inaugural speech as president, he promised to fulfill the commitments listed in the mandate, reiterating that it would take time for the country to change. He also alluded to the proposal of parliamentary elections, so that a new government can be formed.[41]
Dissanayake appointed members to hisinterim cabinet, which included Ananda Wijepala as the private secretary to his president,Nandika Sanath Kumanayake as secretary to the president, Ravi Seneviratne as secretary to theMinistry of Public Security, andSampath Thuyacontha as the secretary to theMinistry of Defence.[42]
Due to the seat of Dissanayake being vacant in parliament,Lakshman Nipuna Arachchi was appointed as the former's replacement as MP for theColombo district.[43]
On 24 September, Dissanayake appointed MPHarini Amarasuriya as prime minister, the third woman to hold the position.[44] He also appointed her as concurrent minister for justice, education and labour.[45] Aside from Amarasuriya, Dissanayake also appointedVijitha Herath, another NPP MP in Parliament to his cabinet.[46] Later that day, he dissolved the16th Parliament of Sri Lanka and called forearly legislative elections scheduled on 14 November.[47]
TheTamil National Alliance (TNA) has stated in late October 2024, that the TNA is willing to work with a Dissanayake government and accept ministerial portfolios.[48]
Dissanayake led his party for a landslide victory in the elections by claiming 159 seats out of 225 that gave him over the 2/3 majority in parliament.
Dissanayake was highly critical of theWickremesinghe government and theInternational Monetary Fund, claiming that the IMF only wished to bail out corrupt regimes.[49] He stated that some of the IMF conditions need to be renegotiated, such as the reduction of certain taxes such as thepay-as-you-earn tax, as this has outperformed, while reducing expenditure to meet the primary surplus target. He has indicated that his government would increase social welfare grants while eliminatingvalue-added taxes on essential items such as food, health services, medical equipment, and educational services. His government would reduce the cost of living and increase taxes on the wealthy while supporting their businesses.[50] Since assuming the presidency, Dissanayake has committed to continuing the country's deal with the IMF.[51]
President Dissanayake instructed 4,500 ha (11,000 acres) of land belonging to the Kantale Sugar Company to be distributed to farmers for the cultivation of short-term crops.[52]
His first budget followed strict fiscal discipline, balancing the IMF program with the party's ideology. With much of the budget being taken up for debt servicing, he increased commitment to education and health as well as Aswesuma welfare benefits within the limits of the IMF program.[53]
Dissanayake has promised to reopen over 400 cases of corruption and fraud, including restarting investigation into the2015 Central Bank of Sri Lanka bond scandal and the2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings.[54] Former senior police officerShani Abeysekara was appointed to head the newly created Police Assets Recovery Unit.[55]
The Presidential Secretariat instructed all former ministers and state officials to hand in any official vehicles[56] and firearms[57] issued to them and requested former presidentsMahinda Rajapaksa andRanil Wickremesinghe to return vehicles in excess of their entitlements. During his election campaign, Dissanayake pledged to revokeentitlements enjoyed by former presidents and has appointed a committee to look into it.[58] The Parliament would eventually act on the pledge, and revoked the entitlements in September of 2025.[59]
To fightorganised crime, Dissanayake ordered the Attorney General to remove fundamental rights petitions submitted to the Supreme Court against police officers, including officers of the eliteSpecial Task Force.[60]
The government’s anti-corruption acts received mixed reactions, with praise for stopping corruption at minister and deputy minister level but no major effects on top bureaucratic, middle, and lower levels among public officials. As a result Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) began raids of government institutions and officials with large amounts of unexplained cash.[61]
Dissanayake has indicated that Sri Lanka intends to gainBRICS membership, initiated by the previous government. Although invited to attend the BRICS summit inKazan in October 2024, Dissanayake indicated that he would be unable to attend due to the elections in the country and will instead send a delegation to the summit.[62]
Sri Lanka rejected the resolution by theUnited Nations Human Rights Council in October 2024 for an external evidence gathering mechanism, stating that Dissanayake aimed to "make domestic mechanisms credible and sound".[63]
On 22 October 2024, cabinet spokesmanVijitha Herath announced that neither the president nor any other ministers would attend the2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), scheduled to be held inApia,Samoa, from 25 to 26 October 2024. Instead, a delegation of officials from the Sri Lanka High Commission in the UK and theForeign Ministry will represent Sri Lanka at the meeting.[64]
Also on 22 October 2024, Foreign SecretaryAruni Wijewardane led the Sri Lanka delegation to the2024 BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia.[65] The country had initiated its formal application process to joinBRICS.[66][67]
Dissanayake's first overseas visit was to India in December 2024, during which he met with Prime MinisterNarendra Modi inNew Delhi.[68] In 2025 he pledged that Sri Lankan territory will not be allowed to be used for anti-Indian activities.[69] He also signed an MoU to go ahead with the Indo-Lanka grid connection[70] but refused the proposal for a land bridge connecting Sri Lanka to India.[71]
Dissanayake visited the Archbishop of Colombo, CardinalMalcolm Ranjith, where he received blessings and later vowed to uncover the truth surrounding the2019 Easter Sunday bombings.[72]
Responding to calls byNorthern Province residents, Dissanayake ordered the reopening of the Palali-Achchuveli main road in October 2024, which was carried out by the Defence Secretary. The road which ran across the high-security zone of thePalaly Cantonment inJaffna had been closed for over 30 years since the start of theSri Lankan Civil War.[73] FormerIlankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi parliamentarianM. A. Sumanthiran urged President Dissanayake to release all remaining military-occupied land, both residential and agrarian.[74] Dissanayake promised on 11 November that lands occupied by the government and military would be gradually returned to their previous owners. The program began with the closing of the Paruthithurai camp in 20 November.[75] Several military checkpoints were also either closed or transferred to the police.[76] In 2025, he proposed that more Tamil-speaking Sri Lankans should be recruited to the Sri Lanka Police.[77]
Dissanayake has responded to the threat of terrorism that appeared in October 2024 with travel advisories raised by the United States and several other countries, by deploying the police, intelligence officers and the armed forces in Colombo,Arugam Bay,Weligama andElla; and meeting foreign envoys.[78][79]
Dissanayake days after replacing theCommander of the Army,Vikum Liyanage,[80] revealed in January 2025 that 73Type 56 assault rifles of the army had fallen into hands of organised criminals, which has led to the arrest of several army officers and personnel.[81][82]
Dissanayake continued the reduction in size of the military begun by the previous governments[83] while emphasizing the need to purchase modern equipment. According to him, by 2030, the Army will be resized to 100,000, Navy to 40,000 and Air Force to 18,000. He also noted that aircraft and ships of the military were outdated and will be replaced.[84][85] He also pledged to replace thePrevention of Terrorism Act with a new act that allows security threats to be addressed without curtailing civil liberties.[86]
Dissanayake has been characterised in media as aMarxist,[87] aneo-Marxist,[88] and apragmatist.[89] During his 2024 presidential campaign, Dissanayake pledged to dissolve thethen-incumbent parliament within 45 days of coming to power and seek a general mandate for his policies. He ran on a platform ofanti-corruption andanti-poverty in 2024.[90] Dhananath Fernando, CEO of theColombo-based pro-marketthink tank Advocata Institute, said that Dissanayake "now advocates for a pro-trade approach, emphasising the simplification of the tariff structure, improving the business environment, reforming tax administration, ending corruption and positioning the private sector as the engine of growth. However, his stance ondebt negotiations remains unclear."[91]
| Election | Constituency | Party | Alliance | Votes | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 parliamentary | Kurunegala District | Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna | United People's Freedom Alliance | 153,868 | Elected | ||
| 2015 parliamentary | Colombo District | 65,966 | Elected | ||||
| 2019 presidential | Sri Lanka | National People's Power | 418,553 | Lost | |||
| 2020 parliamentary | Colombo District | 49,814 | Elected | ||||
| 2022 presidential | Sri Lanka | 3 (E.V) | Lost | ||||
| 2024 presidential | 5,740,179 | Elected | |||||
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | President of Sri Lanka 2024–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Minister of Defence 2024-present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Minister of Finance 2024-present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Minister of Agriculture, Land and Livestock 2004–2005 | Succeeded by |
| Parliament of Sri Lanka | ||
| Preceded by | Chief Opposition Whip 3 September 2015 – 18 December 2018 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna 2014–present | Incumbent |
| New office | Leader of National People's Power 2019–present | |
| Order of precedence | ||
| First | Order of precedence of Sri Lanka President 2024–present | Succeeded byas Prime Minister |
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| Presidency | .jpg) | |
| Electoral history | ||
| Family |
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| Related | ||
Media from Commons
Quotations from Wikiquote
Data from Wikidata
