Sri Lanka's Mahinda Rajapaksa, South Asia's Longest Serving Ruler, Returns to Power after 5 Years
News 18When Mahinda Rajapaksa was vanquished in Sri Lanka's presidential elections in 2015, many thought the shrewd leader, known for his brutal military campaign against the Tamil Tigers, was a spent force. Rajapaksa served as labour minister and minister of fisheries and aquatic resources under President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who appointed him as prime minister after the general election of April 2004, when the United People's Freedom Alliance, a coalition led by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, won a majority in Parliament. Three years later, Rajapaksa was briefly appointed as the prime minister in October, 2018 by then President Sirisena, who sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in a controversial move that plunged the country into an constitutional crisis. The SLPP also announced the presidential candidacy of Rajapaksa's brother Gotabhaya, who had served as his defence minister in the final years of the civil war against the LTTE.