Anura Kumara Dissanayake facts for kids

Quick facts for kids His Excellency Anura Kumara Dissanayake
අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක அநுர குமார திசாநாயக்க
Dissanayake in 2024
10th President of Sri Lanka
Incumbent
Assumed office 23 September 2024
Prime Minister	Harini Amarasuriya
Preceded by	Ranil Wickremesinghe
Cabinet positions Minister of Defence Incumbent Assumed office 24 September 2024 President Himself Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya Preceded by Ranil Wickremesinghe Minister of Finance Incumbent Assumed office 24 September 2024 President Himself Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya Preceded by Ranil Wickremesinghe Minister of Agriculture, Land, Livestock, Irrigation, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources In office 24 September 2024 – 18 November 2024 President Himself Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya Preceded by Mahinda Amaraweera Succeeded by K. D. Lalkantha In office 10 April 2004 – 24 June 2005 President Chandrika Kumaratunga Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa Preceded by S. B. Dissanayake Succeeded by Ratnasiri Wickremanayake Minister of Energy In office 24 September 2024 – 18 November 2024 President Himself Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya Preceded by Kanchana Wijesekera Succeeded by Kumara Jayakody
Parliamentary positions Leader of the National People's Power Incumbent Assumed office 14 July 2019 Preceded by Position established Leader of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna Incumbent Assumed office 29 September 2014 General Secretary Tilvin Silva Preceded by Somawansa Amarasinghe Chief Opposition Whip In office 3 September 2015 – 18 December 2018 Preceded by John Seneviratne Succeeded by Mahinda Amaraweera Member of Parliament for Colombo district In office 1 September 2015 – 23 September 2024 Succeeded by Lakshman Nipuna Arachchi Member of Parliament for Kurunegala district In office 1 April 2004 – 8 April 2010 Member of Parliament for National List In office 22 April 2010 – 17 August 2015 In office 18 October 2000 – 7 February 2004
Personal details
Born	Dissanayaka Mudiyanselage Anura Kumara Dissanayake (1968-11-24) 24 November 1968 (age 56) Dewahuwa, Ceylon
Political party	National People's Power
Other political affiliations	Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
Spouse	Mallika Dissanayake
Children	1
Residences	462/20, Pannipitiya Road, Pelawatte, Battaramulla
Alma mater	University of Kelaniya
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Student union leader
Signature

Anura Kumara Dissanayake (born on November 24, 1968), often called AKD, is a Sri Lankan politician. He is the tenth and current president of Sri Lanka, taking office in 2024. Dissanayake is the first Sri Lankan president to be chosen in a second round of voting. He is also the first president not to belong to one of Sri Lanka's traditional major political parties.

Born in 1968 in a village in Sri Lanka's Central Province, Dissanayake's family moved in 1972. While studying at university, he joined the Socialist Students Union. This group was connected to the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) political party. He became involved in student activities and later completed his science degree at the University of Kelaniya. In 1997, he became the national organizer for the Socialist Students Union.

Dissanayake joined the JVP's Central Committee in 1997. He entered parliament in 2000. In 2004, he was elected to parliament from the Kurunegala Electoral District. He served as the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation from 2004 to 2005. In 2014, he became the leader of the JVP. He was elected to Parliament from the Colombo Electoral District in 2015. From 2015 to 2018, he was the Chief Opposition Whip. In 2019, he helped start the National People's Power (NPP) political group.

Dissanayake ran for president in 2019 and came in third place. He ran again in 2024 and was elected President of Sri Lanka on September 22, 2024. This made him the first president elected from a "third party" in Sri Lanka.

Early Life and Education

Anura Kumara Dissanayake was born on November 24, 1968. His birthplace was the village of Dewahuwa in the Matale District of Sri Lanka. His father worked in agriculture and later for the surveyor's department. His mother was a homemaker. He has one sister. He enjoys reading books by famous authors like Leo Tolstoy. He has also said he is inspired by leaders such as Marx, Lenin, and Gandhi.

His family later moved to the Anuradhapura District. Dissanayake went to Thambuththegama Gamini Maha Vidyalaya and then Thambuththegama Central College. He was the first student from his college to get into a university, attending the University of Peradeniya.

Student Politics and Challenges

From his school days, Dissanayake was involved with the JVP. In 1987, at 19, he officially joined the JVP. While at the University of Peradeniya, he spent much of his time on political activities. He faced difficulties and had to go into hiding because of government actions against the JVP. His family's home was even burned down. Many JVP leaders were caught, but Dissanayake managed to stay hidden.

Completing University Studies

After the situation became safer, Dissanayake came out of hiding. He transferred to the University of Kelaniya in 1992. He finished his studies there and graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science degree.

Political Journey

Leading Student Movements

After graduating, Dissanayake became the National Organiser of the Socialist Students Union. This group was supported by the JVP. He soon took charge of the Inter University Students' Federation. He helped expand student groups that supported the JVP in many Sri Lankan universities.

Joining the JVP Leadership

He was appointed to the Central Working Committee of the JVP in 1996. In 1998, he joined the politburo of the JVP. This is a very important group within the party.

Serving in Parliament (2000–2024)

Dissanayake first entered parliament in 2000. He was chosen from the JVP's national list. He was reappointed to parliament in 2001.

Becoming a Cabinet Minister

In 2004, the JVP joined forces with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). They ran together as part of the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA). Dissanayake was elected to parliament from the Kurunegala District. President Kumaratunga then made him the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation in February 2004. During his time as minister, he helped restore the Kandy Lake.

He resigned from his minister role in June 2005. This happened because the JVP decided to leave the UPFA. They disagreed with the President's plan to work with the LTTE on tsunami relief efforts.

Leading the JVP Party

On February 2, 2014, Dissanayake was named the new leader of the JVP. He took over from Somawansa Amarasinghe. After becoming leader, he apologized for past actions by the JVP.

After the 2015 parliamentary election, he served as Chief Opposition Whip. This role involves managing the opposition party's actions in parliament. He held this position from September 2015 to December 2018. He was also recognized as a very active Member of Parliament for five years in a row.

Presidential Elections

In 2019, the National People's Power (NPP) group, led by the JVP, announced that Dissanayake would be their candidate for president. In the 2019 election, Dissanayake came in third place.

He ran for president again in 2024. On August 29, 2023, the NPP announced his candidacy. In the first round of voting, Dissanayake won the most votes, with 42.31%. Since no candidate won more than half the votes, a second round of counting was held. Dissanayake was then declared the winner, getting 55.89% of the votes.

Many people believe Dissanayake won because people were unhappy with previous governments. Sri Lanka was facing an economic crisis. His victory was seen as a win that did not rely on ethnic or religious divisions.

Presidency (2024–present)

Starting His Term and Forming a Cabinet

Dissanayake became president at the presidential secretariat on September 23, 2024. In his first speech, he promised to keep his election promises. He also mentioned that he would call for new parliamentary elections.

He appointed members to his first cabinet. This included Ananda Wijepala as his private secretary. Harini Amarasuriya was appointed as prime minister on September 24. She is the third woman to hold this important position. She also became the minister for justice, education, and labor. Dissanayake also dissolved the 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka and called for early elections on November 14.

Dissanayake's party won a big victory in these elections. They secured 159 out of 225 seats in parliament. This gave them a strong majority.

Economic Plans

Dissanayake had been critical of the previous government's economic policies. He said that some conditions from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) needed to be discussed again. He wanted to reduce certain taxes, like the pay-as-you-earn tax. He also planned to cut value-added taxes on important items like food and health services. His government aims to lower the cost of living and increase taxes on the wealthy. Since becoming president, Dissanayake has continued Sri Lanka's agreement with the IMF.

President Dissanayake also ordered that 11,000 acres of land from the Kantale Sugar Company be given to farmers. This land is for growing short-term crops. His first budget focused on careful spending. It balanced the IMF program with his party's ideas. He increased spending on education, health, and welfare benefits.

Fighting Corruption and Crime

Dissanayake has promised to look into over 400 cases of corruption and fraud. This includes restarting investigations into the 2015 Central Bank bond scandal. A new Police Assets Recovery Unit was created, led by former police officer Shani Abeysekara.

The Presidential Secretariat asked all former ministers and officials to return official vehicles and firearms. Former presidents were also asked to return extra vehicles. Dissanayake had promised to change the special benefits given to former presidents.

To fight organized crime, Dissanayake ordered the Attorney General to remove certain legal challenges against police officers. The government's anti-corruption efforts have received mixed reactions. There has been praise for stopping corruption at higher levels. The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) started raids on government offices.

Foreign Relations

Anura Kumara Dissanayake with the External Affairs Minister of India, Dr. S. Jaishankar

Dissanayake has said that Sri Lanka wants to join BRICS. This is a group of major emerging economies. Sri Lanka sent a team to the BRICS summit in October 2024.

Sri Lanka did not accept a resolution from the United Nations Human Rights Council in October 2024. The country stated that Dissanayake wants to make its own systems for gathering evidence strong and trustworthy.

In October 2024, it was announced that the president and other ministers would not attend the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). Instead, officials from Sri Lanka represented the country.

Dissanayake's first trip outside Sri Lanka was to India in December 2024. He met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He promised that Sri Lankan land would not be used for activities against India. He also signed an agreement for an electricity connection between India and Sri Lanka. However, he did not agree to a land bridge connecting the two countries.

Truth and Reconciliation Efforts

Dissanayake visited the Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith. He promised to find out the truth about the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings.

Responding to requests from people in the Northern Province, Dissanayake ordered the reopening of the Palali-Achchuveli main road in October 2024. This road had been closed for over 30 years. He also promised that land taken by the government and military would be given back to its original owners. This program started in November. Several military checkpoints were also closed or given to the police. In 2025, he suggested that more Tamil-speaking Sri Lankans should join the Sri Lanka Police.

National Security Plans

In October 2024, Dissanayake responded to a terrorism threat. He sent police, intelligence officers, and armed forces to areas like Colombo. He also met with foreign representatives.

In January 2025, Dissanayake revealed that 73 army rifles had fallen into the hands of criminals. This led to the arrest of several army officers.

Dissanayake is continuing to reduce the size of the military. He wants to buy modern equipment. By 2030, he plans for the Army to have 100,000 members, the Navy 40,000, and the Air Force 18,000. He also promised to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act with a new law. This new law would address security threats without limiting people's freedoms.

Political Views

Media has described Dissanayake as a Marxist and a pragmatist. During his 2024 presidential campaign, Dissanayake promised to dissolve the parliament within 45 days of becoming president. He wanted to get a new public vote for his policies. His campaign focused on fighting corruption and poverty.

An expert from a think tank in Colombo said that Dissanayake now supports a pro-trade approach. He wants to simplify taxes and improve the business environment. He also aims to end corruption and make the private sector a key part of economic growth.

Election History

Images for kids

• 

  Dissanayake in 2024

• 

  Anura Kumara Dissanayake's signature

• 

  Anura Kumara Dissanayake with the External Affairs Minister of India, Dr. S. Jaishankar

See also

In Spanish: Anura Kumara Dissanayake para niños