Harini Amarasuriya
Dr. Harini Amarasuriya | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| හරිනි අමරසූරිය ஹரிணி அமரசூரிய | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Amarasuriya in 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 24 September 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President | Anura Kumara Dissanayake | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Dinesh Gunawardena | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Member of Parliament for National List | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 20 August 2020 – 24 September 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 6 March 1970 Galle, Southern Province, Dominion of Ceylon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Sri Lankan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | National People's Power | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Occupation |
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| Website | www | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dr. Harini Amarasuriya[a] (born 6 March 1970) is a Sri Lankan academic, activist, and politician serving as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka since 2024. She is the third woman to hold this office.
A member of the National People's Power, she also holds the portfolios of Minister of Justice, Public Administration, Provincial Councils, Local Government and Labour, Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Minister of Trade, Commercial, Food Security, Co-operative Development, Industries and Entrepreneur Development, Minister of Women, Child and Youth Affairs and Sports and Minister of Health since 2024. Amarasuriya has been a National List Member of Parliament for the NPP since 2020. She was previously a senior lecturer at the Department of Social Studies of the Open University of Sri Lanka.
Amarasuriya is ideologically part of the centre-left faction of the National People's Power and considers herself to be a liberal.
Early life and career
[edit]University and early career
[edit]Amarasuriya holds a B.A. (Hons) in Sociology from Hindu College, University of Delhi,[1] an M.A. in Applied Anthropology and Development from Macquarie University, and a PhD degree in Social Anthropology from the University of Edinburgh.[2]
Amarasuriya has also published books and conducted research on youth, politics, dissent, activism, gender, development, state-society relations, child protection, globalisation and development.[3][4] After serving as a child protection and psychosocial practitioner for several years, she joined the Open University of Sri Lanka as a senior lecturer in the field of Sociology.She was also an activist, becoming a member of the Federation of University Teachers' Association and joining protests demanding free education.[5]
Political career
[edit]Amarasuriya joined the National Intellectuals Organization in 2019 and campaigned for the NPP Candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake during the 2019 Sri Lankan presidential election. On 12 August 2020, she was nominated and appointed by the JJB as the national list candidate to enter the 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka following the 2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election.[6][7][8]
Confusion and concerns were raised about whether she could continue her service as an academic senior lecturer at the Open University after being nominated as a national list candidate.[9] However, in an interview with EconomyNext, she officially revealed that she had resigned from the position of senior lecturer of the Open University in order to pursue her political career and parliamentary politics as an MP.[citation needed]
Advocacy
[edit]Harini Amarasuriya was a prominent figure in Sri Lankan academia, recognized for her research on youth unemployment, feminism, gender inequality, child protection, and the inefficiencies in the education system. She focused on reconciliation and social inclusion to help bridge ethnic, religious and political divides in Sri Lanka, as well as promoting national unity and stability. Additionally, she advocated for gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights, was involved in the Parliamentary Caucus for Animal Welfare, and served on the Board of Directors for the non-governmental organization Nest.[10][11][12][13]
Premiership (2024–present)
[edit]On 24 September 2024, Amarasuriya was sworn in as the sixteenth Prime Minister of Sri Lanka by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.[14] She is the first prime minister of her party, and the third female to hold the role after Sirimavo Bandaranaike and Chandrika Kumaratunga.[15]
Aside from the premiership, she was concurrently appointed as the interim minister of justice, health, women and trade and industries,[16] until a parliamentary election is held on 14 November 2024.[17]
Personal life
[edit]Amarasuriya is unmarried, and has no children.[18]
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ (24 September 2024). "Delhi roots, Colomobo heights: New Sri Lankan PM Harini Amarasuriya's fascinating link to India" Archived 2024-09-28 at the Wayback Machine. The Times of India. Retrieved on 24 September 2024.
- ^ Harini Amarasuriya Archived 2024-09-28 at the Wayback Machine - Manthri.lk. Retrieved on 24 September 2024.
- ^ "Dr Harini Amarasuriya | IASH". www.iash.ed.ac.uk. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
- ^ "Who is Dr. Harini Amarasuriya ? NPP national list nominee". NewsWire. 2020-08-12. Archived from the original on 2020-08-12. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
- ^ "Cyber bullying prevents women from public positions - Harini Amarasuriya". Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 2024-09-28. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
- ^ "Rights activist and academic Dr Harini Amarasuriya is the NPP National List nominee". EconomyNext. 2020-08-12. Retrieved 2020-08-12.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Dr. Harini Amarasuriya named as JJB National List MP". Sri Lanka News - Newsfirst. 2020-08-12. Archived from the original on 2024-09-28. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
- ^ tharindu. "හරිනි අමරසූරිය මාලිමාවේ ජාතික ලැයිස්තු මන්ත්රී ධුරයට". sinhala.srilankamirror.com. Archived from the original on 2021-09-07. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
- ^ "NPP National List slot: Dr. Harini Amarasuriya's name proposed". www.themorning.lk. Archived from the original on 2020-08-12. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
- ^ "Positive effects of Harini Amarasuriya's appointment as Prime Minister". Daily News (Sri Lanka). September 25, 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-09-28. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
- ^ "NPP will back bill to decriminalize same-sex relationships - Harini Amarasuriya". Ada Derana. June 25, 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-09-24. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
- ^ "Parliamentary Caucus for Animal Welfare". Parliament of Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 2024-03-05. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
- ^ "Interview – Harini Amarasuriya". E-International Relations. June 25, 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-08-05. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
- ^ Jamkhandikar, Shilpa (24 Septemeber 2024). "Sri Lanka President Dissanayake picks Harini Amarasuriya as PM". Reuters. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
- ^ "Former academic named Sri Lanka's third female prime minister". BBC. Archived from the original on 2024-09-25. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
- ^ "Sri Lanka's new president calls parliamentary election to consolidate his mandate". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 25 September 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
- ^ (24 September 2024). "The New Cabinet of Sri Lanka" Archived 2024-09-28 at the Wayback Machine. Manthri.lk. Retrieved on 26 September 2024.
- ^ Aneez, Shirar (25 September 2024). "Factbox – Sri Lanka's new PM Harini Amarasuriya's thorny path from social health worker". EconomyNext. Archived from the original on 2024-09-27. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
External links
[edit]- Harini Amarasuriya, Parliament directory of members
- Harini Amarasuriya publications indexed by Google Scholar
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- Education ministers of Sri Lanka
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