Sri Lanka leader reappoints Amarasuriya as PM

Sri Lanka’s Marxist-leaning President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has reappointed educationist Harini Amarasuriya as the country’s prime minister after sweeping the snap parliamentary elections last week, Al Jazeera reports.

Dissanayake on Monday picked a 21-member cabinet, retaining the key defence and finance portfolios as he plans sweeping reforms, including a campaign promise of a new constitution, and to fight corruption in a nation recovering from its worst economic crisis.

A nation of 22 million, Sri Lanka was crushed by the crisis triggered by a severe shortage of foreign currency that pushed it into a sovereign default and caused its economy to shrink by 7.3 per cent in 2022 and 2.3 per cent last year. The country has been undergoing a financial programme by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) following the default.

The swearing-in ceremony of the new cabinet, which was telecast live, took place at the Presidential Secretariat in the capital, Colombo.

Amarasuriya, 54, will also hold the ministries of education, higher education as well as vocational training. She was first appointed as the prime minister in September to serve in the interim government after Dissanayake won the presidential election, making her the first woman to head the national government in 24 years.

Veteran legislator Vijitha Herath has been appointed the foreign minister. Ananda Wijepala is the new public security and parliamentary affairs minister, while Bimal Rathnayake has been tapped as transport, highways, ports and civil aviation minister.