Wimal Weerawansa

Hon.
Wimal Weerawansa
Leader of the National Freedom Front
Incumbent
Assumed office
14 May 2008
Preceded byPosition established
Minister of Industries[a]
In office
22 November 2019 – 3 March 2022
PresidentGotabaya Rajapaksa
Prime MinisterMahinda Rajapaksa
Preceded byDaya Gamage
Succeeded byDilum Amunugama
Minister of Small & Medium Business and Enterprise Development
In office
22 November 2019 – 12 August 2020
PresidentGotabaya Rajapaksa
Prime MinisterMahinda Rajapaksa
Preceded byRavi Karunanayake
Minister of Housing and Social Welfare
In office
9 November 2018 – 15 December 2018
PresidentMaithripala Sirisena
Prime MinisterMahinda Rajapaksa
Preceded bySajith Premadasa
Succeeded bySajith Premadasa
Minister of Construction, Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities
In office
23 April 2010 – 12 January 2015
PresidentMahinda Rajapaksa
Prime MinisterD. M. Jayaratne
Preceded byFerial Ashraff
Succeeded bySajith Premadasa
Member of Parliament
for Colombo District
In office
2000–2024
Member of the Western Provincial Council
In office
1999–2000
Member of Colombo Municipal Council
In office
1997–1999
Personal details
BornWeerasangilige Wimal Weerawansha
(1970-03-07) 7 March 1970
CitizenshipSri Lankan
PartyNational Freedom Front (since 2008)
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (1987–2008)
Other political
affiliations		Supreme Lanka Coalition (2022–2024)
Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance (2019–2022)
United People's Freedom Alliance (2004–2019)
SpouseShashi Weerawansha
Children2
OccupationPolitician
Websitewimalweerawansa.lk

Weerasangilige Wimal Weerawansa (Sinhala: විමල් වීරවංශ, Tamil: விமல் வீரவன்ச) (born 7 March 1970) is a Sri Lankan politician, former member of parliament and current leader of the National Freedom Front (NFF). Weerawansa has served many cabinet positions, including Minister of Industries from 2020 to 2022, Minister of Small and Medium Business and Enterprise Development, Industries and Supply Chain Management from 2019 to 2020, Minister of Housing and Social Welfare in 2018 and the Minister of Construction and Housing from 2010 to 2015.

Early life and family

Weerawanssa was born 7 March 1970.[1][2][3][b] He is the son of Weerasangilige Podineris, a dancing teacher and professional musician, and Wadachcharige Salie.[5] Weerawansa has one brother (Sarath Weerawansa) and three sisters (Weerasangilige Sumanawathie, Chandani Weerawansa and Nilani Weerawansa).[5] Weerawansa was educated at Tissa Central College in Kalutara where he played for his school's cricket team.[7][8] Weerawansa passed eight GCE Ordinary levels and started studying GCE A levels but was expelled for poor attendance.[5]

Weerawansa is married to Ranasinghe Mudiyanselage Shirsha Udayanthi (Sashi).[5] They have a son and a daughter.[5]

Career

Weerawansa joined the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) during its second insurrection and wrote articles in Lakdiva and Hiru, pro-JVP periodicals.[5][9] He was known by various aliases including Wimalasiri Gamlath and Wanshanatha.[5] He was president of the Peoples' Movement for Freedom (Nidahasa Udesa Janatha Viyaparaya), propaganda secretary and politburo member of the JVP.[5] In his early political years, Weerawansa was greatly influenced by socialism and disliked nationalism as much as capitalism.[9] He even accused the ultra-nationalist National Movement Against Terrorism (NMAT) of orchestrating a coup d'état.[9] However, as time went by, Weerawansa and the JVP slowly began to move away from Marxism and towards Sinhalese nationalism.[9]

Weerawansa was one of the Sri Lanka Progressive Front (a JVP-led front) candidates in the Colombo District at the 1994 parliamentary election, but the SLPF failed to win any seats in the district.[5][10] He contested the 1997 local government election as a JVP candidate and was elected to the Colombo Municipal Council.[5][11][12] He contested the 1999 provincial council election as one of the JVP's candidates in the Colombo District, and as the JVP's chief ministerial candidate, but failed to get elected.[5][13][14] The JVP nevertheless appointed Weerawansa to the Western Provincial Council.[5][15] Weerawansa contested the 2000 parliamentary election as one of the JVP's candidates in Colombo District. He was elected and entered Parliament.[16] He was re-elected in 2001.[17]

Weerawansa played a key role in the JVP's opposition to president Chandrika Kumaratunga's devolution plans and Norwegian-facilitated peace talks with the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.[9] On 20 January 2004, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the JVP got together to form the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA).[18] Weerawansa was one of the UPFA's candidates in the Colombo District at the 2004 parliamentary election and was re-elected.[19] In June 2005, the JVP left the UPFA government.[20][21] Weerawansa was general-secretary of the Patriotic National Movement (PNM).[9][22][23]

Weerawansa fell out with the leadership of JVP and was suspended from the party in March 2008, on accusations of corruption, espionage and extra-marital affairs. This decision was taken by the executive committee of the JVP and was approved by a majority vote.[9][22][24][25] In May 2008, several dissident JVP MPs led by Weerawansa formed the National Freedom Front (NFF) (or the Jathika Nidahas Peramuna).[26][27][28] The NFF rejoined the UPFA government in December 2008.[29] Weerawansa was re-elected at the 2010 parliamentary election, and was appointed Minister of Construction, Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities after the election.[30][31][32] He lost his ministerial position following the 2015 presidential election. He was re-elected at the 2015 parliamentary election.[33][34] Weerawansa was appointed as the Minister of Small & Medium Business and Enterprise Development, Industries and Supply chain Management in November 2019 following the 2019 presidential election.[35]

Weerawansa was appointed as Minister of Industries in 2020 under Gotabaya Rajapaksa, but was later stripped of his ministerial portfolios on 3 March 2022.[36][37]

On 4 September 2022, after defecting from the ruling Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance, Weerawansa founded the Supreme Lanka Coalition along with seven other small leftist and nationalist parties. In January 2023, the SLC formed the Freedom People's Alliance with the SLFP and the Freedom People's Congress.

In October 2024, Wimal Weerawansa announced that the NFF would not be participating in the upcoming parliamentary elections, in hopes of increasing chances of the JVP-led National People's Power, led by president Anura Kumara Dissanayake, winning a majority in Parliament.[38]

Controversies

Weerawansa has been involved in numerous controversies during his career. In 2006 he was accused of sexually harassing a 24-year-old female employee of the state-owned Lake House.[39] On 8 July 2010 Weerawansa began a hunger strike outside the United Nations office in Colombo to protest against the appointment of the Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka by the Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon.[40][41] Despite claiming to go on a "fast-unto-death", Weerawansa's hunger strike only lasted until 10 July 2010 and was seen as a publicity stunt.[42][43][44] In March 2012, Weerawansa called for Sri Lankans to boycott American products such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, KFC, McDonald's, Google and Gmail as a protest against the US government sponsoring a resolution on Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council.[45][46][47]

Following the change in government in January 2015, the police started investigating Weerawansa's wife Shashi over allegations that she faked official documents to obtain a diplomatic passport.[48][49] A panel investigating the activities of the housing ministry during Weerawansa's ministry uncovered financial irregularities and rampant nepotism.[50] Weerawansa was investigated by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) over how several of his relatives obtained government constructed houses at well below market prices.[51][52] Weerawansa was arrested at Bandaranaike International Airport on 23 October 2015 due to discrepancies in his passport.[53][54] After being questioned by the Criminal Investigation Department, he was produced before Negombo Magistrate's Court and released on bail.[55][56] Weerawana was arrested by the Police Financial Crimes Financial Crimes Investigations Division (FCID) on accusations of misusing government vehicles on 10 January 2017.[57] Weerawansa's bail applications were rejected several times.[58] While he was in custody, Weerawansa started a hunger strike claiming of political revenge by the government.[59] The hunger strike was called off after eight days on requests made by Theras of the Malwathu and Asgiri chapters and fellow politicians.[60] Weerawansa was released on bail on 7 April 2017.[61]

Weerawansa has been accused of spreading communalism.[62][63]

Weerawansa asked the public to launch a Black Flag protest to oppose Indian prime minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Sri Lanka in May 2017.[64]

In October 2017, Weerawansa stated that the parliament should be bombed if a new constitution was approved by a parliament vote.[65] The Parliament Speaker urged to inquire into Weerawansa's statement. Piyasiri Wijenayake, an NFF member criticized Weerawansa and claimed that the thoughts expressed were Weerawansa's personal views.[66][67][68][69]

In May 2022, Weerawansa's wife, Shashi was sentenced to two years in prison after she was found guilty of obtaining passport by submitting false information.[70] The court also imposed a fine of LKR 100,000 on her.[71] This case involved fraudulently obtaining two passports, including a diplomatic one, by presenting false information.[72] She was accused of having different names and birthdates on the documents used to acquire these passports.

Electoral history

Electoral history of Wimal Weerawansa
Election Constituency Party Alliance Votes Result
1994 parliamentary[5] Colombo District JVP SLPF 302 Not elected
1997 local[5] Colombo MC JVP Elected
1999 provincial[5] Colombo District JVP Not elected
2000 parliamentary[16] Colombo District JVP 13,284 Elected
2001 parliamentary[17] Colombo District JVP 19,687 Elected
2004 parliamentary[19] Colombo District JVP UPFA 237,185 Elected
2010 parliamentary[30] Colombo District JNP UPFA 280,672 Elected
2015 parliamentary[73] Colombo District JNP UPFA 313,801 Elected
2020 parliamentary[74] Colombo District JNP SLPFA 267,084 Elected

Notes

  1. ^ Minister of Industries and Supply chain Management from 22 November 2019 to 12 August 2020.
  2. ^ Weerawansha's date of birth was given as 7 March 1970.[4][5] However, following the 2015 change in government it was revealed that Weerawansha and his wife had altered details, such as their dates of birth, on several official documents and that Weerawansha's actual date of birth was 7 March 1970.[1][2][3][6]

References

  1. ^ a b Gunasekara, Manopriya (23 February 2015). "Wimal also changed DoB: CID". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka).
  2. ^ a b "CID grills Wimal Weerawansha – Submissions made to Court on two identity cards of his wife". Independent Television Network. 23 February 2015.
  3. ^ a b Kannangara, Nirmala (25 January 2015). "The Lives The Weerawansha Enjoy!". The Sunday Leader.
  4. ^ "Directory of Members: Wimal Weerawansha". Parliament of Sri Lanka.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Wimal Weerawansha: A profile". The Sunday Leader. 11 May 2008.
  6. ^ "Police Say Wimal Also Changed Birthday". Asian Mirror. 24 February 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  7. ^ Miranda, Sujitha (7 July 2013). "Tissa Central moves along successfully". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
  8. ^ Fernando, Reemus (2 May 2008). "Weerawansha, Jayasuriya and the Battle of the Mangosteens".
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Peebles, Patrick (2015). Historical Dictionary of Sri Lanka. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 383–384. ISBN 978-1-4422-5584-5.
  10. ^ "Result of parliamentary general election 1994" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
  11. ^ Collure, Shyamal (9 February 1997). "JVP candidates finalised". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
  12. ^ Collure, Shyamal A. (11 May 1997). "Poll reshuffle by JVP". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
  13. ^ Peiris, Roshan (21 February 1999). "JVP to attack PA on all fronts". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
  14. ^ "Spoilt votes tilted balance". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 11 April 1999.
  15. ^ "Members of the Third Council". Western Provincial Council.
  16. ^ a b "General Election 2000 Preferences" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
  17. ^ a b "General Election 2001 Preferences" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
  18. ^ "SLFP-JVP alliance signed in Colombo". TamilNet. 20 January 2004.
  19. ^ a b "General Election 2004 Preferences" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
  20. ^ "JVP leaves coalition Government". TamilNet. 16 June 2005.
  21. ^ Weerasinghe, Chamikara (17 June 2005). "JVP leaves Govt with regret". Daily News (Sri Lanka).
  22. ^ a b "Weerawansha suspended from JVP politburo". TamilNet. 4 April 2008.
  23. ^ "JVP benefited from NGO money". BBC Sinhala. 18 April 2005.
  24. ^ "JVP 'suspends' Weerawansha". BBC Sinhala. 4 April 2008.
  25. ^ "JVP splits in two". BBC Sinhala. 8 April 2008.
  26. ^ "JVP dissidents form JNP". TamilNet. 12 May 2008.
  27. ^ "JVP dissidents form new party". Daily News (Sri Lanka). 13 May 2008.
  28. ^ Abeywickrema, Mandana Ismail (4 May 2008). "Wimal to register new party this month". The Sunday Leader.
  29. ^ "UPFA looks for strength in alliance with JVP as election fever hots up". The Nation (Sri Lanka). 28 December 2008.
  30. ^ a b "Parliamentary General Election – 2010 Colombo Preferences" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
  31. ^ "PART I: SECTION (I) — GENERAL Appointments & c., by the President" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1651/3. 26 April 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 May 2010. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  32. ^ "New Cabinet Ministers & Deputy Ministers". Daily News (Sri Lanka). 24 April 2010.
  33. ^ "PART I: SECTION (I) — GENERAL Government Notifications PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS ACT, No. 1 OF 1981" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. 1928/03. 19 August 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  34. ^ "Ranil tops with over 500,000 votes in Colombo". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 19 August 2015.
  35. ^ "Sri Lanka's interim cabinet under new President sworn-in". ColomboPage. 22 November 2019. Archived from the original on 23 November 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  36. ^ "Sri Lanka President appoints cabinet ministers, state ministers". 12 August 2020.
  37. ^ "Part I: Section (I) — General - Government Notifications - Appointments & C., by the President" (PDF). The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Extraordinary. No. 2188/43. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 13 August 2020. pp. 1A–4A. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  38. ^ "Wimal's Party to skip Election, urges majority for NPP". Newswire. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  39. ^ Yapa, Vimukthi (19 November 2006). "Wimal accused of sexual harassment". The Sunday Leader.
  40. ^ "United Nations closes Sri Lanka mission after protests". The Guardian. Associated Press. 8 July 2010.
  41. ^ "UN recalls Resident Coordinator from Colombo, closes UNDP". TamilNet. 8 July 2010.
  42. ^ "Sri Lankan minister ends UN hunger strike protest". BBC News. 10 July 2010.
  43. ^ "Sri Lankan minister ends fast". The Hindu. Press Trust of India. 11 July 2010.
  44. ^ "Weerawansha abandons fast unto death after Rajapaksa visit". TamilNet. 10 July 2010.
  45. ^ "Wimal calls for boycott of US products". The Sunday Leader. Press Trust of India. 13 March 2012.
  46. ^ "Sri Lankan minister calls for boycott of American products". NDTV. Associated Press. 14 March 2012.
  47. ^ "SL Minister urges boycott of Google". Tamil Guardian. 13 March 2012.
  48. ^ "Shashi Weerawansha's passport under CID probe". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 27 January 2015.
  49. ^ "Wimal Weerawansha's wife arrested". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 23 February 2015.
  50. ^ Gunaratna, Harischandra (14 May 2015). "Nepotism and financial irregularities in Wimal's ministry". The Island (Sri Lanka).
  51. ^ Kannangara, Nirmala (14 February 2016). "The Law Continues To Crawl in Weerawansha Saga". The Sunday Leader.
  52. ^ Rathnakara, Ishara (8 May 2015). "Wimal's house sales probe... Court calls full report". Ceylon Today.
  53. ^ "Wimal arrested". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 23 October 2015.
  54. ^ Panchalingam, Ariram (23 October 2015). "MP Weerawansha arrested". News First.
  55. ^ "Wimal Weerawansha arrested; released on bail". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 23 October 2015.
  56. ^ Thomas, Kavindya Chris; Weerakoon, Gagani (24 October 2015). "Wimal bailed out – Arrested at Bandaranaike International Airport". Ceylon Today.
  57. ^ "Wimal Weerawansha arrested". 10 January 2017.
  58. ^ "Wimal's bail application rejected once again". ITN News. 4 April 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
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  61. ^ "Wimal granted bail under exceptional circumstances". Daily Mirror. 7 April 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  62. ^ "Weerawansha a sick idiot who spreads communalism – Sarath Wijesuriya". Sri Lanka Guardian. 15 January 2016.
  63. ^ "Defeated politicos 'stirring ethnic fires' -Puravesi Balaya". Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka). 1 March 2015.
  64. ^ "Wimal Asks Public To Hang Black Flags During Indian Premier Narendra Modi Visit". Asian Mirror. 2 May 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  65. ^ "Ada Derana Prime Time News Bulletin 06.55 pm - 2017.10.22". Ada Derana News. 22 October 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  66. ^ "Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka Speaker urged to inquire into bomb threat by MP Wimal Weerawansha on parliament". Colombo Page. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  67. ^ DIGITAL, ITN. "Wimal's own party expresses protest over his sentiments". ITN News. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  68. ^ "Wimal threatens to bomb Parliament". Daily News. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  69. ^ "Weerawansa sentiments not shared by NFF – Piyasiri Wijenayake". adaderana.lk. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  70. ^ Zulfick Farzan (27 May 2022). "Fake Passport: Shashi Weerawansa sentenced to two years in prison". News First. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  71. ^ "Update on Shashi Weerawansa : Appeal submitted". NewsWire. 27 May 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  72. ^ "Shashi Weerawansa sentenced to two years in prison". Hiru News. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  73. ^ Jayakody, Pradeep (28 August 2015). "The Comparison of Preferential Votes in 2015 & 2010". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka).
  74. ^ "Parliamentary General Election 2020 Results - Adaderana".
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