Harini Amarasuriya facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Harini Amarasuriya
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| හරිනි අමරසූරිය ஹரிணி அமரசூரிய |
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Amarasuriya in 2024
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| 16th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 24 September 2024 |
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| President | Anura Kumara Dissanayake | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Dinesh Gunawardena | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Member of Parliament for Colombo District |
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| Assumed office 21 November 2024 |
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| Majority | 655,289 Preferential votes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of Parliament for National List |
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| In office 20 August 2020 – 24 September 2024 |
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
Harini Nireka Amarasuriya
6 March 1970 Galle, Southern Province, Dominion of Ceylon |
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| Nationality | Sri Lankan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | National People's Power | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | Bishop's College, Colombo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Occupation | Academic, Politician | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Profession | Sociologist | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Harini Nireka Amarasuriya (born on March 6, 1970) is an important person in Sri Lanka's government. She is a sociologist (someone who studies how people live in groups), a teacher, and a politician. Since 2024, she has been the 16th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.
Before becoming Prime Minister, she worked as a teacher at the Open University of Sri Lanka for ten years. During this time, she was also involved with a group called the Federation of University Teachers' Association, working to improve conditions for university staff. In 2020, the National People's Power (NPP) party chose her to be a Member of Parliament from their National List.
In September 2024, she became the 16th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. At the same time, she was given several important jobs as a minister, including justice, health, women's affairs, education, trade, and industries. She is the third woman to become Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, following Sirimavo Bandaranaike and her daughter Chandrika Kumaratunga. After the NPP party won a big victory in the 2024 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, Harini Amarasuriya was appointed as the 17th Prime Minister. She received a very high number of votes in that election.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Harini Amarasuriya was born in Galle, Sri Lanka, on March 6, 1970. She was the youngest of three children. Her father worked on a plantation, and her mother was a homemaker. Her family moved to Colombo when she was young.
She went to Bishop's College in Colombo and also spent a year as an exchange student in the United States. She later received a scholarship to study Sociology at Hindu College, Delhi in India, graduating from the University of Delhi in 1994.
After returning from India, she worked with children affected by the tsunami. Five years later, she earned a Master's degree in Applied and Development Anthropology from Macquarie University. She then completed her PhD in Social Anthropology at the University of Edinburgh.
Academic and Activist Work
After finishing her PhD, Harini Amarasuriya joined the Open University of Sri Lanka in 2011 as a senior lecturer in Social Sciences. She later became the head of that department. She has done important research on human rights and ethics in Sri Lanka.
Working for Teachers' Rights
As a member of the Federation of University Teachers' Association (FUTA), she actively worked to improve working conditions and ensure fair treatment for university staff. This is known as "trade union action."
Advocating for Education Funding
Harini Amarasuriya has always supported making education better and more equal for everyone in Sri Lanka. She believes that all students should have access to good quality education, no matter how much money their families have. She campaigned with FUTA in 2011 and 2012, asking the government to spend 6% of the country's total income (called GDP) on education. In 2023, Sri Lanka was only spending about 2% of its GDP on education.
Political Journey
Becoming a Member of Parliament
In 2019, Harini Amarasuriya joined the National Intellectuals Organization and supported Anura Kumara Dissanayake during the 2019 Sri Lankan presidential election. On August 12, 2020, the NPP party chose her to become a Member of Parliament in the 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka.
When she was chosen for Parliament, she resigned from her job as a senior lecturer at the Open University to focus on her political career. As a Member of Parliament, she worked on bringing people together and bridging differences between ethnic, religious, and political groups in Sri Lanka. She also supported gender equality and the rights of LGBTQ+ people.
Becoming Prime Minister
On September 24, 2024, Harini Amarasuriya was sworn in as the 16th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. She is the first Prime Minister from her party and the third woman to hold this important position.
When President Dissanayake formed his first government, Harini Amarasuriya was given several key ministerial roles. These included Minister of Justice, Health, Women, Education, Trade, and Industries. These roles were part of a temporary government until a new Parliament was elected.
Changes in Education
After becoming the Minister of Education, Harini Amarasuriya started making changes. One of her first steps was to stop the old practice of inviting politicians to school events. This was done to remove political influence from schools.
2024 Parliamentary Election
Harini Amarasuriya, who is also the Deputy Secretary of the NPP, led the party's nominations from the Colombo Electoral District for the 2024 Sri Lankan parliamentary election.
In this election, she achieved a new record by getting the highest number of preferential votes from the Colombo District, with 655,289 votes. This was a very impressive result. After the parliamentary election, Harini Amarasuriya was re-appointed as the 17th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. She was also appointed as the Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education.
Personal Life
Harini Amarasuriya is not married and does not have children.
Images for kids
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Amarasuriya in 2024
See also
In Spanish: Harini Amarasuriya para niños
