Anura Kumara Dissanayake

President of Sri Lanka since 2024

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2025 Dissanayake pledged that Sri Lankan territory will not be used for anti-Indian activities and signed an MoU for the Indo-Lanka grid connection, while refusing a proposal for a land bridge connecting Sri Lanka to India.
2025 Initiated a military reduction plan, aiming to resize the Army to 100,000, Navy to 40,000, and Air Force to 18,000 by 2030. Pledged to replace outdated military aircraft and ships, and to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act with a new act that addresses security threats while preserving civil liberties.
2025 Dissanayake pledged that Sri Lankan territory will not be allowed to be used for anti-Indian activities.
2025 Proposed increased recruitment of Tamil-speaking Sri Lankans to the Sri Lanka Police.
January 2025 Replaced Army Commander Vikum Liyanage and revealed that 73 Type 56 assault rifles from the army had been acquired by organized criminals, leading to the arrest of several army officers and personnel.
2024 Anura Kumara Dissanayake launched his presidential campaign, pledging to dissolve the incumbent parliament within 45 days of coming to power and running on an anti-corruption and anti-poverty platform.
2024 Appointed former senior police officer Shani Abeysekara to head the newly created Police Assets Recovery Unit to support anti-corruption efforts.
2024 Elected in the presidential election.
2024 Visited the Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, and vowed to uncover the truth surrounding the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings.
2024 Began presidency and initiated a comprehensive anti-corruption campaign, promising to reopen over 400 cases of corruption and fraud, including reinvestigating the 2015 Central Bank of Sri Lanka bond scandal and the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings.
2024 Instructed the Presidential Secretariat to require all former ministers and state officials to return official vehicles and firearms, specifically requesting former presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe to return excess vehicles.
2024 Ordered the Attorney General to remove fundamental rights petitions submitted to the Supreme Court against police officers, including officers of the Special Task Force, as part of efforts to combat organized crime.
December 2024 Dissanayake made his first overseas visit to India, meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
November 20 2024 Initiated the land return program by closing the Paruthithurai camp.
November 14 2024 Led his party to a landslide victory in parliamentary elections, claiming 159 out of 225 seats and securing over a 2/3 majority in parliament.
November 11 2024 Promised to gradually return military-occupied lands to their previous owners.
October 2024 Received support from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), who stated they are willing to work with his government and accept ministerial portfolios.
October 2024 Ordered the reopening of the Palali-Achchuveli main road, which had been closed for over 30 years since the start of the Sri Lankan Civil War.
October 2024 Sri Lanka rejected the United Nations Human Rights Council resolution for an external evidence gathering mechanism, with Dissanayake aiming to prioritize domestic mechanisms.
October 2024 Responded to terrorism threat by deploying police, intelligence officers, and armed forces in key locations including Colombo, Arugam Bay, Weligama, and Ella. Met with foreign envoys to address the security situation.
October 22 2024 Foreign Secretary Aruni Wijewardane led the Sri Lanka delegation to the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, as part of the country's formal application process to join BRICS.
October 22 2024 Cabinet spokesman Vijitha Herath announced that Sri Lanka would not send president or ministers to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa, instead sending a delegation of officials.
September 24 2024 Dissolved the 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka and called for early legislative elections scheduled on 14 November.
September 24 2024 Appointed MP Harini Amarasuriya as prime minister, making her the third woman to hold the position. Simultaneously appointed her as concurrent minister for justice, education, and labour. Also appointed Vijitha Herath, another NPP MP, to his cabinet.
September 23 2024 Lakshman Nipuna Arachchi was appointed as a replacement MP for the Colombo district to fill Dissanayake's vacant parliamentary seat following his presidential inauguration.
September 23 2024 Anura Kumara Dissanayake was inaugurated as president at the presidential secretariat, delivering an inaugural speech promising to fulfill campaign commitments and hinting at potential parliamentary elections.
September 23 2024 Dissanayake appointed his interim cabinet, including key appointments such as Ananda Wijepala as private secretary, Nandika Sanath Kumanayake as presidential secretary, Ravi Seneviratne as secretary of Public Security, and Sampath Thuyacontha as secretary of Defence.
September 22 2024 Elected as President of Sri Lanka, becoming the first president to be elected from a third party and the first to be elected in a second round of vote counting.
August 29 2023 The NPP (National People's Power) announced Anura Kumara Dissanayake as their presidential candidate for the 2024 election.
2022 Contested the presidential election as a candidate for National People's Power, but lost.
2020 Elected to parliament from Colombo District.
2019 Contested the presidential election as a candidate for National People's Power, but lost.
August 18 2019 Anura Kumara Dissanayake was announced as the presidential candidate for the National People's Power political alliance led by the JVP for the 2019 presidential elections.
December 2018 Completed his term as Chief Opposition Whip.
2015 Elected to parliament from Colombo District.
September 2015 Began serving as Chief Opposition Whip following the 2015 parliamentary election.
February 2 2014 Anura Kumara Dissanayake was named as the new leader of the JVP during the 17th National Convention, succeeding Somawansa Amarasinghe. He publicly apologized for the JVP's killings during the second insurrection.

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