05-26-2004, 06:01 PM
Former premier named Sri Lanka's deputy defence minister
Colombo, May 26 (DPA) President Chandrika Kumaratunga expanded the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) cabinet by appointing a former prime minister as the de facto defence minister and naming two other ministers, Presidential Secretariat officials said today.
Former prime minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake was named as the Minister of Public Security Law and Order and the deputy defence minister. Kumaratunga also appointed D E W Gunasekara as minister of Constitutional Affairs while former professor Vishwa Warnapala was named as the deputy minister of Foreign Affairs.
The appointments raise the number of cabinet ministers to 37.
They were sworn in this morning.
President Kumaratunga still holds the Defence portfolio. However, the deputy defence minister is considered a powerful post as most activities are handled by that portfolio.
During Kumaratunga's previous regime, 1994 to 2000, the deputy defence minister, General Anuruddha Ratwatte, spearheaded many of the military operations against the Tamil rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The LTTE is currently following a cease-fire with the Sri Lankan government forces under a Norwegian backed peace process.
Wickremanayake was the premier for three months in the latter part of 2000 before facing fresh elections. He was reappointed as the premier for a second term lasting until December 2001.
Besides the Public Security, Law and Order ministry, which deals with the police and prisons, Wickremanayake will head Buddhist Affairs.
The UPFA, elected to power during the April 2 parliamentary elections, had promised to keep the number of cabinet ministers to 35, but have now broken that pledge with today's appointments.
http://www.deepikaglobal.com
Colombo, May 26 (DPA) President Chandrika Kumaratunga expanded the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) cabinet by appointing a former prime minister as the de facto defence minister and naming two other ministers, Presidential Secretariat officials said today.
Former prime minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake was named as the Minister of Public Security Law and Order and the deputy defence minister. Kumaratunga also appointed D E W Gunasekara as minister of Constitutional Affairs while former professor Vishwa Warnapala was named as the deputy minister of Foreign Affairs.
The appointments raise the number of cabinet ministers to 37.
They were sworn in this morning.
President Kumaratunga still holds the Defence portfolio. However, the deputy defence minister is considered a powerful post as most activities are handled by that portfolio.
During Kumaratunga's previous regime, 1994 to 2000, the deputy defence minister, General Anuruddha Ratwatte, spearheaded many of the military operations against the Tamil rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The LTTE is currently following a cease-fire with the Sri Lankan government forces under a Norwegian backed peace process.
Wickremanayake was the premier for three months in the latter part of 2000 before facing fresh elections. He was reappointed as the premier for a second term lasting until December 2001.
Besides the Public Security, Law and Order ministry, which deals with the police and prisons, Wickremanayake will head Buddhist Affairs.
The UPFA, elected to power during the April 2 parliamentary elections, had promised to keep the number of cabinet ministers to 35, but have now broken that pledge with today's appointments.
http://www.deepikaglobal.com
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