Who is Sri Lanka’s new president Anura Kumara Dissanayake?
The results of the Sri Lankan elections were announced on Sunday (September 22, 2024) and Anura Kumara Dissanayake has become the new president of Sri Lanka.
He won the presidency with 42.31% of the vote, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa came in second and incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe came third, the country’s Election Commission said on its website.
Also read: Sri Lanka court convicts president over vote delay
He is due to be sworn in on September 23.
Who is Sri Lanka’s new president Anura Kumara Dissanayake?
Anura Kumara Dissanayake, or AKD, is the leader of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP of People’s Liberation Front), a party of Marxist-Leninist origins.
He comes from a small farming household that was not politically active.
His father was an office aide in the government Survey Department and his mother was a homemaker.
AKD secured a seat in 2000 and served as Minister of Agriculture in President Chandrika Kumaratunga Bandaranaike’s government between 2004 and 2005.
He became the leader of the party in 2014.
He is known as a good speaker and a clear-headed decision maker.
