Mahinda Rajapaksa

He married Shiranthi Wickremasinghe, a child-psychologist and educator, in 1983. The couple has three sons, Namal, Yoshitha and Rohitha. His son Namal followed in his father’s footsteps to become a politician.

He was born as Percy Mahendra “Mahinda” Rajapaksa on 18 November 1945 in Weerakatiya, Southern Province, British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) into a family of prominent politicians. His father, D. A. Rajapaksa had served as a Member of Parliament and a Cabinet Minister while his uncle had been a State Councillor.

He attended the Richmond College in Galle before moving on to Nalanda College in Colombo. He also studied at Thurstan College later on.

He was elected to the Parliament in 1970 when he was just 24, thus becoming its youngest ever member. During the 1970s he also studied law at the Colombo Law College and received a degree in 1974.

He lost his parliamentary seat in 1977 and decided to focus on his law career. He became a successful lawyer and practiced in Tangalle. He continued his law practice for several years along with his parliamentary career.

He was re-elected to Parliament in 1989 to represent Hambantota District under Proportional Representation. He became prominent as a politician during this time as he was a defender of human rights.

After the election victory of the People’s Alliance headed by Chandrika Kumaratunga in 1994, he was made the Minister of Labour, a post he held until 1997 after which he was appointed the Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources following a cabinet reshuffle.

He was appointed as the Leader of the Opposition in March 2002 after the United National Party (UNP) defeated the People’s Alliance in the 2001 elections.

Rajapaksa is best known for the leadership role he played in ending the 30-year war against the militant group LTTE--one of the most extreme terrorist organizations in the world. The Sri Lankan army defeated the LTTE in 2009 in a dramatic war.