Mahinda Rajapaksa
| Mahinda Rajapaksa මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ | |
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| | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 19 November 2005 | |
| Prime Minister | Ratnasiri Wickremanayake |
|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chandrika Kumaratunga |
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| In office 6 April 2004 – 19 November 2005 | |
| President | Chandrika Kumaratunga |
| Preceded by | Ranil Wickremasinghe |
| Succeeded by | Ratnasiri Wickremanayake |
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| Born | 18 November 1945 Madamulana, Hambantota, British Ceylon |
| Birth name | Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa |
| Political party | UPFA (SLFP) |
| Spouse(s) | Shiranthi Rajapaksa (nee Wickremesinghe) |
| Children | Namal, Yoshitha and Rohitha |
| Alma mater | Richmond College Galle Nalanda College Colombo Thurstan College Colombo Sri Lanka Law College |
| Profession | Attorney |
| Religion | Buddhist |
| Website | President's Official Website |
Early life and career
Rajapaksa was born in Weerakatiya in the southern rural district of Hambantota.[2] He hails from a well known political family in Sri Lanka. His father, D. A. Rajapaksa, was a prominent politician, independence agitator, Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister of Agriculture and Land in Wijeyananda Dahanayake's government. D.M. Rajapaksa, his uncle, was a State Counselor for Hambantota in the 1930s who started wearing the earthy brown shawl to represent kurakkan (finger millet) cultivated by the people of his area, whose cause he championed throughout his life. It is from his example that Rajapaksa wears his characteristic shawl.[2]Rajapaksa was educated at Richmond College, Galle before moving to Nalanda College, Colombo and later Thurstan College, Colombo.[2] He also had a few cameo roles as a movie actor in Sinhalese movies and worked as a library assistant at Vidyodaya University.[3]
Following the death of his father in 1967, Rajapaksa took over as the SLFP candidate for Beliatta constituency and was elected to Parliament in 1970 as the youngest Member of Parliament at the age of 24.[3] Later he studied law at the Sri Lanka Law College and took oaths as an attorney-at-law in November 1977.[4] Throughout his parliamentary career, except for the period from 1994-2001 when he was a minister, he continued his law practice in Tangalle.[2]
He lost his parliamentary seat in the landslide defeat of the SLFP in 1977.[2] During the 1985 by-election campaign in the Mulkirigala electorate in Hambantota district, for which his brother Chamal Rajapaksa contested representing the SLFP, during this time Mahinda was remanded for allegations of possession of unauthorized fire arms, but he was cleared of charges due to lack of evidence.
