Susil Premajayantha

Achchige Don Susil Premajayantha (born 10 January 1955) is a Sri Lankan politician, Cabinet Minister and a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.[1]

Hon.
Susil Premajayantha
MP
සුසිල් ප්‍රේමජයන්ත
சுசில் பிரேமஜயந்த
Leader of the House
Assumed office
27 July 2022
PresidentRanil Wickremesinghe
Prime MinisterDinesh Gunawardena
Preceded byDinesh Gunawardena
Minister of Education
Assumed office
20 May 2022
PresidentGotabaya Rajapaksa
Ranil Wickramasinghe
Prime MinisterRanil Wickramasinghe
Dinesh Gunawardena
Preceded byRamesh Pathirana
In office
23 November 2005 – 23 April 2010
PresidentMahinda Rajapaksa
Prime MinisterRatnasiri Wickremanayake
Succeeded byBandula Gunawardane
In office
2000–2001
PresidentChandrika Kumaratunga
Prime MinisterRatnasiri Wickremanayake
Preceded byRichard Pathirana
Succeeded bySarath Amunugama
Minister of Technology and Research[lower-alpha 1]
In office
4 September 2015 – 12 April 2018
PresidentMaithripala Sirisena
Prime MinisterRanil Wickremesinghe
Preceded byChampika Ranawaka
Succeeded byGotabaya Rajapaksa
Minister of Environment and Renewable Energy
In office
28 January 2013 – 12 January 2015
PresidentMahinda Rajapaksa
Prime MinisterD. M. Jayaratne
Succeeded byMaithripala Sirisena
Minister of Petroleum Industries
In office
23 April 2010 – 28 January 2013
PresidentMahinda Rajapaksa
Prime MinisterD. M. Jayaratne
Succeeded byAnura Priyadharshana Yapa
Minister of Power and Energy
In office
10 April 2004 – 23 November 2005
PresidentChandrika Kumaratunga
Prime MinisterMahinda Rajapaksa
Preceded byKaru Jayasuriya
Succeeded byJohn Seneviratne
General Secretary of the United People's Freedom Alliance
In office
20 January 2004 – 14 August 2015
LeaderMaithripala Sirisena
Mahinda Rajapaksa
Chandrika Kumaratunga
Preceded byOffice Created
Succeeded byWiswa Warnapala
Member of Parliament
for Colombo District
Assumed office
2001
Member of Parliament
for Gampaha District
In office
2000–2001
Personal details
Born (1955-01-10) 10 January 1955
Sri Lanka
Political partySri Lanka Podujana Peramuna
(2018 - Present)
Sri Lanka Freedom Party
(Until 2018)
Other political
affiliations		Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance
(2020 - Present)
United People's Freedom Alliance
(2004 - 2018)
People's Alliance
(Until 2004)
Alma materSt. John's College, Nugegoda
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionAttorney at Law

Education

Premajayantha received his primary and secondary education at St. John's College, Nugegoda.[2] After that he attended the University of Colombo and received a Bachelor of Laws in 1982 and became an Attorney at Law in 1984.[3] Later on in 2004 he also gained a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura.[4]

Political career

Premajayantha began his political career in 1991 being elected as the Deputy Chairman of Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte Urban Council.[3] In 1993 he was elected to the Western Provincial Council and was elected Chief Minister in 1995.[3][4]

In 2000 he entered parliament for the first time from Gampaha District and became the Minister of Education.[3] Even though the People's Alliance was defeated in the 2001 general elections, Premajayantha was elected back into the Parliament from Colombo District and held his seat in subsequent elections.

With the formation of the United People's Freedom Alliance in 2004, Premajayantha was made its inaugural General Secretary of the party.[3] When the United People's Freedom Alliance won the 2004 general elections he was given the post of Minister of Power and Energy[5] When Mahinda Rajapaksa became President, he was again appointed Minister of Education[6] and after the 2010 general elections as the Minister of Petroleum Industries[7] and in a 2013 cabinet reshuffle he became the Minister of Environment and Renewable Energy[8]

On 25 August 2015, few days after general elections he resigned as the General Secretary of the United People's Freedom Alliance. Few days prior to the elections he was removed from the position by the party Chairman, President Maithripala Sirisena.[9] After the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and United National Party signed a Memorandum of Understanding to form a National unity government,[10] Premajayantha became the Minister of Technology and Research[11][12][13] He was reappointed as the Minister of Education on 20 May 2022 by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and again by President Ranil Wickramasinghe on 23 July 2022.

See also

Notes
  1. Portfolio changed names from Minister of Technology, Technical Education and Employment, on 21 September 2015, but still the same ministry

References
  1. "Biographies of Present Members". The Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
  2. Herath, Mervyn; Savanadasa, Jagath (13 April 2004), "St. John's College Nugegoda - 70 years of service to the community", Daily News (Sri Lanka), archived from the original on 14 September 2005, retrieved 17 March 2016
  3. Premajayantha, Susil (3 August 2015), Message from Susil Premajayantha, retrieved 17 March 2016
  4. "Speaker at Asia Energy Security Summit 2012". Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  5. "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Appointments & c., by the President" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. Vol. 1335/24. 10 April 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015.
  6. "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Appointments & c., by the President" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1420/28. 23 November 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2007.
  7. "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Appointments & c., by the President" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1681/02. 22 November 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2014.
  8. "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Appointments & c., by the President" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1795/43. 31 January 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 May 2013.
  9. "Susil resigns as UPFA General Secretary". AdaDerana. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  10. "SLFP, UNP sign MOU on National Government". Colombo Gazette. 21 August 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  11. "PART I : SECTION (I) — GENERAL Appointments & c., by the President" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1932/07. 14 September 2015.
  12. "New Cabinet". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 4 September 2015.
  13. "The new Cabinet". Ceylon Today. 4 September 2015. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015.


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