Dingiri Banda Wijetunga | |
|---|---|
ඩිංගිරි බණ්ඩා විජේතුංග டிங்கிரி பண்ட விஜேதுங்க | |
| 4th President of Sri Lanka | |
| In office 7 May 1993 – 12 November 1994 Acting: 1–7 May 1993 | |
| Prime Minister | Ranil Wickremesinghe Chandrika Kumaratunga |
| Preceded by | Ranasinghe Premadasa |
| Succeeded by | Chandrika Kumaratunga |
| 9thPrime Minister of Sri Lanka | |
| In office 6 March 1989 – 7 May 1993 | |
| President | Ranasinghe Premadasa |
| Preceded by | Ranasinghe Premadasa |
| Succeeded by | Ranil Wickremesinghe |
| Leader of the United National Party | |
| In office 7 May 1993 – 12 November 1994 | |
| Preceded by | Ranasinghe Premadasa |
| Succeeded by | Ranil Wickremesinghe |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1916-02-15)15 February 1916 |
| Died | 21 September 2008(2008-09-21) (aged 92) Kandy, Sri Lanka |
| Party | United National Party |
| Spouse | Wimalawathi Kumarihami |
| Children | Chithrangani Wijetunga |
Sri LankabhimanyaDingiri Banda Wijetunga (Sinhala:ඩිංගිරි බණ්ඩා විජේතුංග;Tamil:டிங்கிரி பண்ட விஜேதுங்க; 15 February 1916 – 21 September 2008) was a Sri Lankan politician who served as the fourthPresident of Sri Lanka from 7 May 1993 to 12 November 1994,Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 3 March 1989 to 7 May 1993, and Governor ofNorth Western Province from 1988 to 1989. He was awardedSri Lankabhimanya, Sri Lanka's highest civilian award in 1993 by presidentRanasinghe Premadasa.
Wijetunga was born on 15 February 1916 to Wijethunga Mudiyanselage Delgahapitiya Arachchila and his wife Manamperi Mudiyanselage Palingumanike Manamperi, as the eldest child in a middle-classKandyanGovigamaSinhalaBuddhist family living on the outskirts of the then-Udunuwara parliamentary seat in theKandy District of theCentral Province of Sri Lanka.[1] Wijetunga completed his primary education at Waligalla Central College and transferred to St Andrew's College inGampola shortly after.
After completing his schooling, Wijetunga joined theCeylon Police as aconstable in 1939 and served inBorella,Fort andMaradana before leaving service in 1942. He subsequently served in the Co-operative Department as a Co-operative Inspector from 1947 to 1959.
Wijetunga was closely associated with veteran politicians includingGeorge E. de Silva andA. Ratnayaka. Ratnayake, who was then Minister of Food and Co-operatives in theD. S. Senanayake cabinet, took Wijetunga in as hisprivate secretary.
Wijetunga joined theUnited National Party in 1946 and unsuccessfully contested theKadugannawa electorate in the1956 general election, theYatinuwara electorate in theMarch 1960 general election and theUdunuwara electorate in theJuly 1960 general election. He entered parliament for the first time when he successfully contested theUdunuwara electorate in the1965 general election.
He lost the Udunuwara electorate in1970, but returned to parliament in the1977 general election which saw a massive landslide for the UNP. Wijetunga was subsequently appointed as Cabinet Minister of Information and Broadcasting in theJayewardene cabinet. Throughout Jayawardene's presidency, Wijetunga functioned in various ministerial capacities holding the portfolios of Posts and Telecommunication, Power, Highways and Agricultural Development.
He served briefly as the governor ofNorth Western Province in 1988 before returning to parliamentary politics a few months later. In the1989 general election, he secured the largest number of preferential votes in the Kandy District.
Wijetunga was surprisingly appointed as prime minister in 1989 by presidentRanasinghe Premadasa. He also held the Ministries of Finance and Labour and Vocational Training in addition to being the state minister of defence in thePremadasa administration.
Lalith Athulathmudali wasshot dead in April 1993 while campaigning for the provincial council elections. The killing provoked widespread protests against the government and allegations were hurled at the president for complicity in the assassination. A week later, president Premadasa was alsoassassinated inColombo at a May Day rally in asuicide bombing widely considered to be an act of theLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Wijetunga became acting president until parliament convened to elect a successor to the president Premadasa under the terms of the Constitution.
Wijetunga wasunanimously elected by Parliament to complete the remainder of Premadasa's term and was sworn in as the third executive president of Sri Lanka on 7 May 1993.
Wijetunga appointedRanil Wickremesinghe as his prime minister, a close relative of former president Jayawardene. Wijetunga's presidency coincided with the rise ofChandrika Kumaratunga within the ranks of theSri Lanka Freedom Party, the main opposition party.
Wijetunga did not believe that peace could be achieved by negotiating with the LTTE. TheEastern Province was liberated from the LTTE during his tenure except forThoppigala.
After a decisive defeat in the Southern Provincial Council election in 1994, he dissolved parliament prematurely in June of that year. The UNP saw a major defeat to the SLFP-ledPeople's Alliance in the1994 general election and Wijetunga appointed Kumaratunga as prime minister. Even though under the constitution, Wijetunga was bestowed with wide powers, he chose not to exercise much authority, letting prime minister Kumaratunga manage the affairs of the country.
He decided not to contest the1994 presidential election and appointedLucky Jayawardena as the party organizer for his former electorate, Udunuwara. He relinquished office in November 1994 after Kumaratunga was elected president in a historic landslide.
Wijetunga died after a prolonged illness around 9.30 am on 21 September 2008 at Kandy General Hospital.[2] He was 92.[3]
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | President of Sri Lanka 1993–1994 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Sri Lanka 1989–1993 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Office created | Governor of the North Western Province 1988–1989 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
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