Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Lieutenant Colonel Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa, RWP, RSP, psc, GR (Sinhala: ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ; Tamil: கோட்டாபய ராஜபக்ஸ; born 20 June 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician, technocrat and military officer. He is the 8th President of Sri Lanka since 18 November 2019. He was Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development from 2005 to 2015.
He led the Sri Lankan Armed Forces to the military defeat of the Tamil tigers, ending the Sri Lankan Civil War.
In mid 2022, massive protests broke out in the country against Rajapaksa and his government because of his bad handling of the country's economy.[6] On 9 July 2022, Rajapaksa left his official residence in Colombo before protesters broke into the residence.[7] Protesters were seen taking over the mansion even swimming in the president's pool.[8] Later that evening, it was announced he would resign on 13 July 2022.[9]
On the day he promised he would resign, he left the country by military plane to the Maldives without resigning as president.[10][11][12] On 14 July, he left the Maldives after people there protested his arrival and left to Singapore.[13][14] On 14 July, Rajapaksa resigned from presidency.[15]
References
change- ↑ "Police to probe Gota's citizenship, passports". Daily FT. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 10 August 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- ↑ "Gota's Lanka citizenship in doubt, candidacy under cloud". The Island. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 22 September 2019. Archived from the original on 24 June 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- ↑ Singh, Anurangi (29 September 2019). "Gota's citizenship challenged in Court of Appeal". Sunday Observer. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- ↑ "People want non-traditional politicians - Gotabhaya Rajapaksa". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 2019-01-14.
- ↑ "CT finds Gota's true U.S. renunciation certificate". Ceylon Today. 2019-08-01. Archived from the original on 2019-10-07. Retrieved 2019-08-01.
- ↑ "Gotabaya Rajapaksa: Sri Lanka president defies calls for his resignation". BBC News. 6 April 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
- ↑ "Sri Lanka leader flees as protesters storm home". France 24. AFP. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
- ↑ "Sri Lanka crisis: Protesters swim in president's pool". BBC News. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
- ↑ "BREAKING: President to step down on 13th July". Sri Lanka News - Newsfirst. 2022-07-09. Retrieved 2022-07-09.
- ↑ "Sri Lanka: President Gotabaya Rajapaksa flees the country on military jet". BBC News. 2022-07-12. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
- ↑ Marian, Teena (14 July 2022). "Speaker yet to receive GRs resignation". News First. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
- ↑ Jayasinghe, Uditha (14 July 2022). "Sri Lanka awaits president's resignation after flight". Reuters. Colombo. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
- ↑ "Sri Lanka President Rajapaksa set to fly to Singapore via Maldives - government source". reuters.com. Reuters. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ↑ "Sri Lanka's embattled leader leaves Maldives on Saudi plane". Indian Express. 14 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
- ↑ "President Gotabaya Rajapaksa Resigns". Hiru News. 14 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.