Who is Ranil Wickremesinghe? United National Party leader appointed as new PM of Sri Lanka

NEW DELHI: United National Party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday was appointed as the new prime minister of Sri Lanka, days after the last incumbent, the brother of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, resigned in the face of escalating anger with the deepening economic crisis. This would be Wickremesinghe’s sixth stint as prime minister.
“He is being sworn in as prime minister this evening because a number of members of Parliament have asked him to take over and solve the country's problems,” said Vajira Abeywardena, an official of the United National Party, which Wickremesinghe heads.
The announcement may bring a modicum of stability to the country, which is on the verge of bankruptcy and needs a government to lead bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund. The country’s central bank chief has threatened to resign if political order isn’t restored urgently.
Here's all you need to know about Ranil Wickremesinghe -
* Wickremesinghe, 73, has been in Parliament for 45 years.
* He has wide international connections and is seen as a capable negotiator.
* A lawyer by training, Wickremesinghe was first elected as a lawmaker in 1977.
* He’s viewed as something of a survivor in the island nation’s politics.
* He’s served as minister in several governments and first served as premier in the early 1990s.
* He had an unbroken streak in parliament until 2020, when his party was trounced after the Easter Sunday bombings.
* His political party split in 2020 amid a leadership crisis and most senior members left to form a new party, which is currently the country’s main opposition.
* Wickremesinghe's reputation was damaged during his previous term as prime minister, when he was in a difficult power sharing arrangement with former President Maithripala Sirisena.
* An internal conflict and communication breakdown between him and Sirisena was blamed for intelligence lapses that led to Easter Sunday suicide bomb attacks in 2019 that killed more than 260 people.
* He was also accused of shielding a friend he appointed as head of the Central Bank from allegations of insider trading.
Sri Lanka is in the worst economic tailspin of its independent history. With inflation touching 30%, the crisis has also turned into a political risk for the ruling Rajapaksa family. Shortages of everything, from food to basic medicines, have brought angry citizens to the streets over the last many weeks. On Monday, the largely peaceful protests took a violent turn with government supporters attacking demonstrators.
Then-prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned but that didn’t cool the anger. The protesters have long been demanding that the president step down as well and the constitution be amended to curtail the sweeping powers of his office.
Widespread arson and clashes were reported from several parts of the country while homes and properties of several government lawmakers were set on fire. At least nine people, including one ruling party MP, were killed in the violence. Since then the military has been called in to help police maintain law along with powers to shoot rioters. A nationwide curfew is also in place.
On Wednesday, Gotabaya Rajapaksa side-stepped demands for his resignation as president but promised a new prime minister and cabinet within the week. He also said that once political stability was restored he would discuss with all political parties steps to return greater power to parliament and trim the reach of the executive presidency.
(With inputs from agencies)