Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake of Sri Lanka

Wickremanayake was educated in Millewa Primary School, Dharmapala Vidyalaya, Pannipitiya, Hartley College, Point Pedro and Ananda College, Colombo and later as a student joined Lincoln's Inn to become a Barrister of Law, but ultimately chose to enter politics rather than appear for the exam.

Wickremanayake joined the SLFP in 1962.

Wickremanayake received his first ministerial appointment in 1970, when he was appointed Deputy Minister for Justice in the United Front government under Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike.

In 1975, Wickremanayake was appointed Minister of Plantation Industries and the next year was also Minister of Justice.

After the SLFP won the 2004 parliamentary elections, Wickremanayake was appointed Minister of Buddhist Affairs, Public Security, and Law and Order, and Deputy Minister for Defence.

Wickremanayake is seen by many as taking a harder stance on the Sri Lankan Civil War.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake has stressed that his country must formulate her own solution to the prevailing ethnic crisis and that experiences of other countries should not be "planted.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake said on Tuesday that Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji's upcoming visit to his country will further expand good relations between the two countries.

Defence officials said Wickremanayake had meetings with military commanders in Jaffna and visited air force and naval bases.

Date : 2006-04-12Continued Ceasefire violations by the LTTE condemned - Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake said that the Government requests all peace loving people to have confidence in the Government and to act with restraint and patience.

Ratnasiri Wickremanayake expressed "The Government conveys its sincere condolences to the families of the security forces personnel and civilians who lost their lives while President Mahinda Rajapaksa conveys his personal sympathies to the families of the victims.

Peace advocates opine that the premiership being given to SLFP party senior and a former premier Ratnasiri Wickremanayake is not a pro-war move but a tactical one to salvage peace within the UPFA’s main constituent party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), which saw much turbulence recently.

Wickremanayake has taken his oath as the new prime minister,' he said.

Wickremanayake is known as a hardliner and has previously advocated that the Tamil Tiger rebels, who have waged a separatist insurgency since 1972, should be militarily defeated.

Wickremanayake was prime minister briefly from from 2000 to 2001 and was interior minister in the former government of president Kumaratunga.

Speaking at the committee debate on the Ministry of Defence combined with the emergency debate, Wickremanayake said it is now time to think afresh and decide which path the country should take.

Wickremanayake said that the country should also decide whether it should depend on the peace brokering of countries biased towards one party.

Wickremanayake is a former Prime Minister (August 2000-December 2001) who succeeded the late Sirimavo Bandaranaike after she resigned from the position at the age of 84.

Wickremanayake is known to toe a Sinhala-hardline position.

New Delhi: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake has apologised for the forcible eviction of the Tamil refugees by the Lankan police.

What happened is wrong," Wickremanayake said rejecting the police chief's statement posted on the defence ministry website on Sunday defending the police action.

President Abbas (left) welcoming the Sri Lankan Primer (Right) photo by WAFA News The visit started in the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem, where Wickremanayake met Palestinian Authority officials including the Governor of Bethlehem Salah Ta'mari and the Mayor of Bethlehem Victor Batarseh.

able to co-operate with each other.

before he had left home a few days ago.

Deputy Defence Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake said the LTTE was blatantly violating the provision of the Ceasefire Agreement its attempts to provoke the Government, but the government does not intend to go to war despite these provocations.

Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake said there is no bar to any political party to join hands with the Government and rebuild the country.

Wickremanayake was hosted by the governor of Bethlehem Salah Ta'mari who accompanied the guest to the historic Nativity Church, the birthplace of Jesus Christ.

Prime Minister before President Mahinda Rajapakse.

United People’s Freedom Alliance Government.

The PA's Ratnasiri Wickremanayake was sworn in as prime minister by President Chandrika Kumaratunga at her Temple Trees residence.

The 67-year-old Wickremanayake was prime minister in the outgoing cabinet.

Wickremanayake was minister of public administration, plantation industries and home affairs and also leader of the house before he became the prime minister.

Wickremanayake was educated in Sri Lanka and then passed out as a barrister from Lincoln's Inn, London.

PM Wickremanayake is taking over the ministerial post vacated by Minister Karu Jayasuriya last Tuesday, when he left the government in order to accept the post of deputy leader of the United National Party (UNP.

Ratnasiri Wickremanayake was sworn in as the fourteenth Prime Minister of Sri Lanka before SL President Mahinda Rajapakse Monday at 11:30 a.

Sri Lanka oppose suspension of Pakistan from Commonwealth and Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake said theyare one our major arms supplier and Sri Lanka cant affort to loose its support in an emergency cabinet session, sources said.

The cabinet presided over by Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake met in emergency session to reiterate its position that it does not support the suspension of Pakistan from the Commonwealth, Deputy Foreign Minister Hussain Bahila said.

Premier Wickremanayake said the new administration should work hard to fulfil the promises made to the people.

Wickremanayake is notorious for his public appeal to the Sinhala people to spurn family planning and give birth abundantly to young lions and lionesses to fight the tiger menace.

When Kumaratunga and Rajapakse quarrelled over Mahindas pacts with the JVP and JHU Wickremanayake took her side and did not campaign efectively for Rajapakse.

Mr Wickremanayake said the government has been determined to usher democracy and rule of law in the Northern Province, and that the security forces are moving forward in the fight against the LTTE to free the.

COLOMBO, Nov 27 (PTI) — Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake has ruled out a truce with the LTTE and ridiculed foreign peace envoys who had asked the country to adopt experiences of other peace processes.

Mr Wickremanayake was quoted in the press today as saying that he and President Chandrika Kumaratunga firmly believed that the LTTE must be “militarily defeated” to have peace in the island.

In direct reference to his meeting on Thursday with visiting British junior Foreign Minister Peter Hain, Mr Wickremanayake said the Northern Ireland experience could not be “planted” in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka cannot compare its situation with that of (Northern) Ireland as (LTTE leader) Prabhakaran is the embodiment of brutality, killing even his own comrades,” Mr Wickremanayake was quoted as saying in the state-run “Daily News.