Photo: New Sri Lanka PM (in white) being sworn in by President Ranil Wickremesinghe (left) in Colombo on Friday.
Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday swore in a new Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena alongside eighteen cabinet ministers.
Gunawardena was sworn-in as the Prime Minister earlier in the day. He also holds the position of Minister of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils, and Local Government.
Chinese news agency, Xinhua, reports that among those who took oaths as cabinet ministers, were Ali Sabry as the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Also sworn in were Harin Fernando as the Minister of Tourism and Lands, Nalin Fernando as the Minister of Trade, Commerce and Food Security; and Kanchana Wijesekera as the Minister of Power and Energy.
The ministers were sworn-in after Wickremesinghe won an election in parliament on July 20 to become the new President of Sri Lanka following the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Reports said heavy security was deployed outside the prime minister’s office during the ceremony.
73-year-old Wickremesinghe was once a prime minister and had said he would resign as PM in favour of an all-party government.
He is a hard-core leftist leader whose family has a connection with India.
The new prima minister also previously served as foreign minister and education minister.
Gunawardena belongs to a prominent political family in Sri Lanka and is a close ally of the Rajapaksa family, which ruled the country for nearly two decades.
Gunawardena’s father was a prominent figure in the leftist socialist movement in the British era prior to Sri Lanka’s independence in 1948.
The prime minister received his primary and secondary education from Royal College, Colombo.
He later studied at the Netherlands School of Business, graduating with a diploma in business administration and management.
Gunawardena later joined the University of Oregon, graduating with a BBA in international business.
