Editor's Pick: Rajapaksa loyalist is Lanka PM

Senior politician and staunch Rajapaksa loyalist Dinesh Gunawardena on Friday became the third Prime Minister to lead Sri Lanka in the last three months, amid political turbulence sparked by a worsening economic crisis. Mr. Gunawardena and an 18-member “continuity Cabinet” was sworn in on Friday morning, in the presence of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was elected to the country’s top office through a parliamentary vote earlier this week. While most Ministers were part of the last Cabinet under former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Mr. Wickremesinghe will hold the Defence and Finance portfolios. Ali Sabry, who was earlier Justice and Finance Minister, will now head the Foreign Affairs Ministry. Mr. Gunawardena succeeds Mr. Wickremesinghe, who was hand-picked by Mr. Gotabaya for the job in May, after Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned from the post, amid soaring public outrage against the Rajapaksa clan. Citizens held the former first family chiefly responsible for the meltdown that left them scrambling for essentials. Mr. Gunawardena and the all-male Cabinet were sworn in hours after a pre-dawn military raid at Colombo’s main anti-government agitation site, in which at least nine persons were brutally assaulted by soldiers despite protesters promising to vacate the area by 2 p.m on Friday. Son of iconic Marxist politician Philip Gunawardena, Sri Lanka’s newly appointed Premier began his political activism as a leftist and trade unionist but has been in the Rajapaksa camp for some two decades now. Mr. [Dinesh] Gunawardena has held ministerial portfolios including Education, Foreign Affairs and Labour in different Rajapaksa governments, and was Leader of the House from January 2020. He is known for his support for the executive presidency, and opposition to greater power-sharing with Tamils. Mr. Gunawardena, 73, was a classmate of Mr. Wickremesinghe at Colombo’s Royal College, an elite public school. Six-time Prime Minister Mr. Wickremesinghe’s unlikely rise to presidency came on the heels of a sensational protest on July 9, which saw several thousand citizens storm the Presidential Secretariat and palace, forcing Mr. Gotabaya to flee the island nation and resign. Mr. Wickremesinghe, who was the sole MP from his United National Party (UNP), relies on the support of the Rajapaksas’ Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna [SLPP or People’s Front], which also backed him in Wednesday’s parliamentary vote for presidency. With Sri Lankans continuing to demand his resignation, alleging he is a “Rajapaksa backer”, and now another Rajapaksa loyalist anointed PM, the story becomes an important one. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor‘s Pick and more. Click here The Hindu’s Editorials Currency caution: On the Indian rupee’s depreciation A coalition of the sanctioned: On Russia and Iran The Hindu’s Daily Quiz Whatsapp confirmed that this spyware exploited vulnerabilities on its platform on October 30, 2019. Which spyware? Pegasus Dropout Jeep NetWire BellTroX To find out the answer and play the full quiz, click here [logo] Editor's Pick 23 JULY 2022 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( Rajapaksa loyalist is Lanka PM Senior politician and staunch Rajapaksa loyalist [Dinesh Gunawardena]( on Friday [became the third Prime Minister to lead Sri Lanka]( in the last three months, amid political turbulence sparked by a worsening economic crisis. Mr. Gunawardena and an 18-member “continuity Cabinet” was sworn in on Friday morning, in the presence of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was elected to the country’s top office through a parliamentary vote earlier this week. While most Ministers were part of the last Cabinet under former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Mr. Wickremesinghe will hold the Defence and Finance portfolios. Ali Sabry, who was earlier Justice and Finance Minister, will now head the Foreign Affairs Ministry. Mr. Gunawardena succeeds Mr. Wickremesinghe, who was hand-picked by Mr. Gotabaya for the job in May, after Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned from the post, amid soaring public outrage against the Rajapaksa clan. Citizens held the former first family chiefly responsible for the meltdown that left them scrambling for essentials. Mr. Gunawardena and the all-male Cabinet were sworn in hours after a pre-dawn military raid at Colombo’s main anti-government agitation site, in which at least nine persons were brutally assaulted by soldiers despite protesters promising to vacate the area by 2 p.m on Friday.  Son of iconic Marxist politician Philip Gunawardena, Sri Lanka’s newly appointed Premier began his political activism as a leftist and trade unionist but has been in the Rajapaksa camp for some two decades now. Mr. [Dinesh] Gunawardena has held ministerial portfolios including Education, Foreign Affairs and Labour in different Rajapaksa governments, and was Leader of the House from January 2020. He is known for his support for the executive presidency, and opposition to greater power-sharing with Tamils. Mr. Gunawardena, 73, was a classmate of Mr. Wickremesinghe at Colombo’s Royal College, an elite public school. Six-time Prime Minister Mr. Wickremesinghe’s unlikely rise to presidency came on the heels of a sensational protest on July 9, which saw several thousand citizens storm the Presidential Secretariat and palace, forcing Mr. Gotabaya to flee the island nation and resign. Mr. Wickremesinghe, who was the sole MP from his United National Party (UNP), relies on the support of the Rajapaksas’ Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna [SLPP or People’s Front], which also backed him in Wednesday’s parliamentary vote for presidency. With Sri Lankans continuing to demand his resignation, alleging he is a “Rajapaksa backer”, and now another Rajapaksa loyalist anointed PM, the story becomes an important one. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor‘s Pick and more.  [Click here]( The Hindu’s Editorials [Arrow][Currency caution: On the Indian rupee’s depreciation]( [Arrow][A coalition of the sanctioned: On Russia and IranÂ]( The Hindu’s Daily Quiz Whatsapp confirmed that this spyware exploited vulnerabilities on its platform on October 30, 2019. 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