Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa was born in the Southern Province of the country. He holds a degree in law (he studied at the college in Halle and at the University of Colombo). In 1970 he became the youngest deputy of Parliament in the country's history.
In the period of 1994-2001 Mr. Rajapaksa worked in the government of Sri Lanka – first as the Minister of Labor (he developed a progressive labor code that was rejected under pressure from business leaders), then as the Minister of Fisheries.
In 2001-2004 he was the leader of the opposition in the parliament.
In 2004 he was elected the Prime Minister. His activities to eliminate the aftermath of the devastating tsunami on December 26, 2004 were highly appreciated in the country and abroad.
On November 17, 2005 Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected the President during the elections. On January 27, 2010 he was re-elected for the second presidential term.
Interesting Facts
Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa was awarded the following awards:
Order of the Star of Palestine (Palestinian National Authority, 2014);
The award of merit "Nominal Firearms" (June 30, 2010, Ukraine).