D. M. Jayaratne

දිසානායක මුදියන්සේලාගේ ජයරත්න
திசாநாயக்க முதியன்சேலாகே ஜயரத்ன14th Prime Minister of Sri LankaIn office
21 April 2010 – 9 January 2015PresidentMahinda RajapaksaPreceded byRatnasiri WickremanayakeSucceeded byRanil WickremesingheMinister of Buddhasasana & Religious AffairsIn office
8 July 2010 – 7 July 2015PresidentMahinda RajapaksaPrime MinisterHimselfMinister of PlantationsIn office
6 August 2007 – 6 August 2010PresidentMahinda RajapaksaPrime MinisterRatnasiri WickremanayakeMinister of Posts, Telecommunications & Upcountry DevelopmentIn office
8 August 2004 – 6 September 2007PresidentMahinda Rajapaksa
Chandrika KumaratungaPrime MinisterRatnasiri Wickremanayake
Mahinda RajapaksaMinister of AgricultureIn office
1 June 2000 – 9 July 2001PresidentChandrika KumaratungaPrime MinisterRanil WickremesingheMember of Parliament
for Kandy DistrictIn office
5 January 2004 – 7 January 2010In office
1 July 1989 – 29 December 2001Member of Parliament
for National ListIn office
7 January 2010 – 6 June 2015In office
30 December 2001 – 2 January 2004 Personal detailsBorn
(1931-06-04)4 June 1931
Colombo, Sri LankaDied19 November 2019(2019-11-19) (aged 88)
Kandy, Sri LankaPolitical partySri Lanka Freedom PartyOther political
affiliationsUnited People's Freedom AllianceChildrenAnuradha JayaratneEducationDoluwa Maha Vidyalaya, Gampola
Zahira College, GampolaOccupation

Dissanayaka Mudiyanselage Jayaratne (Sinhala: දිසානායක මුදියන්සේලාගේ ජයරත්න, Tamil: திசாநாயக்க முதியன்சேலாகே ஜயரத்ன; 4 June 1931^[1] – 19 November 2019^[2]), known as D. M. "Di Mu" Jayaratne,^[3] was a Sri Lankan politician who was Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2010 to 2015. A founding member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, Jayaratne was first elected to parliament in 1970. He was sworn in as Prime Minister on 21 April 2010.^[4]

Early life

D. M. Jayaratne was born on 4 June 1931. He was educated at Doluwa Maha Vidyalaya and at Zahira College in Gampola, a town just outside Kandy. Following the founding of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party in Kandy in 1951 by S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, Jayaratne worked as a teacher at Doluwa Maha Vidyalaya. He later worked as Postmaster at Doluwa from 1960 to 1962.^[5]

Political career

Jayaratne started his political career having been elected a member of the Village Council of Doluwa, where he later became the Chairman of the Village Council. He also become the President of the Kandy District Village Council Chairmen Association and a Member of the Federation of All Ceylon Village Council.

He first entered parliament following the 1970 general election, obtaining 14,463 votes as the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) candidate in the Gampola electorate, and defeating W.P.B. Dissanayake of the United National Party (UNP).^[6] He was subsequently defeated by Dissanayake in the 1977 election in which just 8 members of the SLFP were returned to parliament.^[7] He was again re-elected to parliament in 1989 from the Kandy District under the new preferential voting system. He obtained 54,290 preferential votes, topping the SLFP list in the Kandy District.^[5]

Re-elected to parliament under the People's Alliance in 1994, Jayaratne was appointed Minister of Land, Agriculture and Forestry by President Chandrika Kumaratunga, entering the cabinet for the first time.^[5] He held several senior party positions such as Secretary General of People's United Front and Senior Vice President of Sri Lanka Freedom Party. Ministerial appointments he held included:

• Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Forestry and Livestock (1994)
• Minister of Agriculture, Land and Forestry (1997)
• Minister of Agriculture and Land (1999)
• Minister of Agriculture (2000)
• Minister of Agriculture Land Forestry Food and Cooperative Development (2001 Probationary Government)
• Minister of Post and Communication (2004 while being in the Opposition)
• Minister of Post and Telecommunication (2004)
• Minister of Telecommunication and Rural Economic Promotion (2005)
• Minister of Telecommunication and Upcountry Development (2006)
• Minister of Plantation Industries (2007)

Prime Minister

Following the election victory of the United People's Freedom Alliance at the 2010 general election, Jayaratne, the most senior member of the SLFP, was sworn in as Prime Minister on 21 April 2010. Under the constitution of Sri Lanka, the role of Prime Minister is largely a ceremonial post. Along with it, he also held the Ministry of Buddha Sasana (Buddhism) and Religious Affairs.^[8]

Personal life

Jayaratne had three children. His youngest Anuradha Jayaratne, is a former State Minister and current member of parliament, his daughter is a graduate from Manipal University, Manipal campus, India.^[9]

See also

• List of political families in Sri Lanka
• Cabinet of Sri Lanka

References

Political offices
Preceded by Ratnasiri Wickremanayake	Prime Minister of Sri Lanka 2010–2015	Succeeded by Ranil Wickremesinghe