President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday (12) appointed a 25 member Cabinet and 39 State Ministers following the establishment of a new SLPP-led Government which secured a landslide victory at the 2020 General Election.
The new Cabinet ministers took oaths before President Rajapaksa at a simple ceremony that took place at the historic Magul Maduwa of the Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy yesterday (12) morning.
The new Cabinet led by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa is a combination of experienced and novice public representatives.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa retained the Defence Ministry portfolio and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa retained the portfolios of Buddha Sasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Finance, Urban Development and Housing.
In the Cabinet appointed by President Rajapaksa in 2019 immediately after his election, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa held the portfolios of Minister of Water Supply and Urban Development, Housing Facilities and Community Empowerment and Estate Infrastructure. In the new Cabinet, Vasudeva Nanayakkara was appointed as the Water Supply and Urban Development while the other two ministries have been positioned under two state ministers.
A newcomer to the House, National List MP President’s Counsel Mohamed Ali Sabry took oaths as the Minister of Justice in the new Cabinet.
Namal Rajapaksa, who secured the highest preferential votes from the Hambantota electorate, was sworn-in as the Minister of Youth and Sports, becoming the youngest Sports Minister in Sri Lanka. This is the first time that he received a ministerial portfolio.
Women and Children’s Affairs has not been included among the list of Cabinet portfolios and the relevant State Minister portfolio is not held by a female Parliamentarian. Kalutara district MP Piyal Nishantha de Silva, was sworn-in as the State Minister of Women and Child Affairs, Pre-School and Primary Education, School Infrastructure and Education Services.
In the 2019 Cabinet, the Women & Child Affairs and Social Security portfolio was held by Pavithra Wanniaarachchi, who took oaths yesterday as the Minister of Health is the only female Parliamentarian in the new Cabinet. Thus she retains her 2019 portfolio.
Udaya Gammanpila who was not included in the Cabinet appointed by the President following the 2019 Presidential election was appointed as the Minister of Energy. S.M. Chandrasena was appointed as the Minister of Lands, whereas the two portfolios, Environment and Wildlife he held in the previous Cabinet have been removed. Accordingly, C.B. Rathnayake was sworn-in as the Minister of Wildlife and Forest Conservation and Mahinda Amaraweera as the Minister of Environment.
Meanwhile, two Cabinet ministerial portfolios were given to Sri Lanka Freedom Party members who contested the 2020 General Election 2020 under the Sri Lanka People’s Freedom Alliance. Thirteen candidates who contested under the SLFP were elected to Parliament. Nimal Siripala De Silva and Mahinda Amaraweera are the two senior SLFP politicos who were given Cabinet portfolios. Dayasiri Jayasekara, Duminda Dissanayake and Lasantha Alagiyawanna have been appointed as State Ministers while Cadar Mastan and Angajan Ramanathan have been appointed as District Coordinating Committee Chairpersons. SLFP Leader and former President Maithripala Sirisena, Shantha Bandara, Shan Wijayalal de Silva, former Education State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya, Sarathie Dushmantha, Jagath Pushpakumara and Chamara Sampath have not received positions in the new Government yet.
Senior Parliamentarians Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, Susil Premajayantha, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Mahinda Samarasinghe, W.D.J. Seneviratne, Dilan Perera and Chandima Weerakkody did not receive any ministerial portfolios yesterday.
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