Maithripala Sirisena

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Maithripala Sirisena (2015)
Sirisena's signature

Pallewatte Gamaralalage Maithripala Yapa Sirisena (short Maithripala Sirisena ; Sinhalese මෛත්‍රිපාල සිරිසේන ; Tamil மைத்திரிபால சிறிசேன ; born September 3, 1951 ) is a Sri Lankan politician. As the main opposition candidate, he surprisingly prevailed against incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa in the presidential election in Sri Lanka on January 8, 2015 , and was Sri Lanka's President from January 9, 2015 to November 18, 2019.

Life and political career

Career until 2014

Sirisena was born in 1951 into a Sinhalese landowning and farming family and grew up in the Polonnaruwa district . He attended the Royal College in Polonnaruwa , later completed three years of agricultural training at the Kundasale Farm School and became a member of the youth organization of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). Initially he worked in agricultural cooperatives and continued to work for the SLFP. Since 1978 he has been active as a professional politician. In 1979 he was elected SLFP party secretary of the district and in 1983 chairman of the SLFP youth organization of Sri Lanka. In 1989 he was elected to the Sri Lankan parliament for the first time in the Polonnaruwa constituency. He was also able to win a constituency mandate in Polonnaruwa in the following elections in 1994 , 2000 , 2001 , 2004 and 2010 . Between 1997 and 2001 and again from 2004 to 2014 he held various ministerial offices in the Sri Lankan government, most recently that of the Minister of Health. From June 2001 to November 21, 2014 he was Secretary General of the SLFP.

Presidency 2014 to 2019

Surprisingly, Sirisena announced his candidacy for the upcoming presidential election as opposition candidate at a press conference on November 21, 2014. At the same time he announced his resignation from the SLFP and his resignation from the ministerial office. Sirisena accused the ruling President Mahinda Rajapaksa of wanting to lead the country towards dictatorship. He accused him of nepotism . Sri Lanka is at the mercy of corruption and legal uncertainty under Rajapaksa's rule. After Sirisena's surprising victory in the presidential election on January 8, 2015, he announced that he would limit the power of the president, which his predecessor had expanded, in relation to a parliament that had to be strengthened, and that he would revise the strong ties to China to the extent that joint projects should be checked for corruption. On January 30, 2015, Sirisena appointed the Tamil Kanagasabapathy Sripavan as Sri Lanka's Chief Justice. This was also interpreted as a signal of reconciliation with the Tamil minority in the country. A few days earlier, Sirisena had rehabilitated Supreme Judge Shirani Bandaranayake, who had been deposed by his predecessor in the Rajapaksa office on charges of corruption.

Sirisena on a state visit to India in February 2015 (right: Prime Minister Narendra Modi )

On April 28, 2015, the 19th amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution was passed, largely at Sirisena's initiative, and became law on May 15, 2015. In doing so, he kept a promise he had made in the election campaign, namely the abolition of the “executive presidency”. With the amendment to the constitution, essential presidential rights were transferred to parliament. Sirisena had to prevail in the discussions in advance against considerable resistance from the former Rajapaksa supporters. The amendment put the former constitutional article 40 back into force, according to which there is a two-term limit for the presidency. This made it impossible for Rajapaksa, who was lurking in the background, to run for the presidency again. However, legal disputes arose over the validity of the newly adopted constitutional amendment in the period that followed.

In October 2018, a constitutional crisis developed in Sri Lanka. On October 26, 2018, Sirisena sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and appointed his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa as the new Prime Minister. This was preceded by increasing differences between the Prime Minister and the President. The appointment of Rajapaksa was sharply criticized from many quarters abroad and in Sri Lanka. The deposed Prime Minister Wickremesinghe then refused to resign on the grounds that he continued to enjoy the confidence of Parliament. He asked Sirisena to put a vote of confidence in parliament. According to constitutional lawyers, Sirisena's dismissal of the Prime Minister had exceeded his constitutional powers. Before the 19th amendment was passed, the President had this power, but not afterwards. On November 9, 2018, President Sirisena then declared parliament dissolved and announced new elections for January 5, 2019. Meanwhile, Rajapaksa made two attempts to get a vote of confidence in parliament, but failed. On December 13, 2018, the Sri Lankan Supreme Court ruled that the dissolution of parliament was "illegal". In the following days, the opposing parties reached an amicable settlement. Rajapaksa announced his resignation and on December 16, 2018, Wickremesinghe was sworn in again by Sirisena as Prime Minister.

On June 26, 2019, President Sirisena signed a decree that lifted the 1976 moratorium on the death penalty. He justified this with the increasing problem of drug trafficking. Specifically, the decree concerned four arrested convicted drug traffickers. On November 10, 2019, President Sirisena pardoned Jayamaha, the offspring of a wealthy, influential Sri Lankan family, who had been sentenced to death for murder, for good conduct after serving a 14-year prison sentence. The pardon led to outraged reactions in the media.

In the run-up to the presidential election in Sri Lanka on November 16, 2019 , Sirisena initially left it open as to whether he would run again. Shortly before the election, however, he decided against running again.

Private

Sirisena is keeping a low profile about his private life. He is married with two daughters and one son and is a Buddhist . He is a vegetarian and tea teller .

On March 26, 2015, Sirisena's youngest brother was seriously injured by an assailant with an ax after a personal dispute in Polonnaruwa and died two days later.

Web links

Commons : Maithripala Sirisena  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Wiswa Warnapala: Maitripala Sirisena: An Embodiment of aspirations of common man. The Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka) February 15, 2009, archived from the original on September 2, 2012 ; accessed on December 4, 2014 .
  2. ↑ a b MAITHRIPALA SIRISENA, MP Parliament of Sri Lanka, accessed on December 4, 2014 (English).
  3. ^ Sri Lanka minister defects to challenge president. Arab News, November 21, 2014, accessed November 22, 2014 .
  4. ↑ Maithri takes over traitor's role from Fonseka. The Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka) November 23, 2014, archived from the original on January 11, 2015 ; accessed on December 4, 2014 .
  5. ^ Friederike Böge: Presidential election in Sri Lanka. The end of an era of triumphalism. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , January 9, 2015.
  6. ↑ Tamil Sripavan appointed Sri Lanka's top judge. BBC News, January 30, 2015, accessed February 5, 2015 .
  7. ↑ Sri Lanka pure Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake. BBC News, January 28, 2015, accessed February 5, 2015 .
  8. ↑ Maithripala's finest hour. The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka), May 3, 2015, accessed January 20, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Neville Ladduwahetty: Interpreting The 19th Amendment. The Island (Sri Lanka), August 28, 2018, accessed January 20, 2019 .
  10. ^ Sri Lanka: Peace Process in Danger. Vatican News, November 1, 2018, accessed January 20, 2019 .
  11. ^ Sri Lanka crisis: House of Cards in the Indian Ocean. BBC News, November 4, 2018, accessed January 20, 2019 .
  12. ↑ Yogita Limaye: Sri Lanka crisis: Ousted PM 'has confidence of parliament'. BBC News, November 1, 2018, accessed January 20, 2019 .
  13. ↑ Sri Lanka's president dissolves parliament and announces new elections. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, November 9, 2018, accessed on January 20, 2019 .
  14. ↑ a b Sri Lanka's exiled Prime Minister Wickremesinghe returns. Deutsche Welle, December 16, 2018, accessed on January 20, 2019 .
  15. ↑ Sri Lanka's parliament expresses distrust of the new prime minister. der Standard, November 14, 2018, accessed January 20, 2019 .
  16. ↑ Sri Lanka parliament sacking 'illegal'. BBC News, December 13, 2018, accessed January 20, 2019 .
  17. ↑ Sri Lanka president signs death warrants to end moratorium. al Jazeera, June 26, 2019, accessed June 30, 2019 .
  18. ↑ Outrage as Sri Lanka president sorry teen's killer. BBC News, November 10, 2019, accessed November 10, 2019 .
  19. ↑ Sri Lanka's Sirisena exits, with reform promises unfulfilled. wtop.com, October 7, 2019, accessed on October 18, 2019 .
  20. ^ Journey of a President and uniting the party of 65 years on his 65th birthday. Daily FT, September 3, 2016, accessed January 20, 2019 .
  21. ^ Vote Maithripala. Archived from the original on December 6, 2014 ; accessed on December 4, 2014 .
  22. ↑ Sirisena's brother dies after assault. the Hindu, March 28, 2018, accessed January 20, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Sirisena, Maithripala
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sirisena, Pallewatte Gamarala position Maithripala Yapa; මෛත්‍රිපාල සිරිසේන (Sinhala); மைத்திரிபால சிறிசேன (Tamil)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Sri Lankan politician
DATE OF BIRTH 3rd September 1951