Rajitha Senaratne

The Honourable Rajitha Senaratne MP
Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medicine
Incumbent
Assumed office 02015-01-12-000012 January 2015
President	Maithripala Sirisena
Prime Minister	Ranil Wickremesinghe
Preceded by	Tissa Attanayake
Member of the Sri Lankan Parliament for Kalutara
Personal details
Born	(1950-05-29) May 29, 1950 Kalutara, Sri Lanka
Nationality	Sri Lankan
Political party	United National Party (1994 – 2007) Sri Lanka Freedom Party (2007 – present)
Alma mater	Ananda College Colombo Nalanda College, Colombo
Occupation	Politics
Profession	Dental Surgeon
Website	www.rajithasenaratne.com

Nambukara Helambage Rajitha Harischandra Senaratne (born 29 May 1950) (known as Rajitha Senaratne) MP is the Sri Lanka's Cabinet Minister of Health and Indigenous Medicine and a Member of Parliament representing the Kalutara District. He was former Cabinet minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development. Dr Rajitha is also the current Cabinet Spokesman.

He completed his primary education at Ananda College Colombo and Nalanda College, Colombo^[1] and entered the Faculty of Dental Science, University of Peradeniya. Graduating from Peradeniya in 1974 he became a dental practitioner in the state sector and was soon appointed as the secretory to the Government Dental Surgeons Assosiation (GDSA)the trade union of the dental surgeons that had many battles with the Jayawardena Government over the Private Medical College issue.^[2] He started his political life from the SLFP and later joined Vijaya Kumaranatunga to established the SLMP. The dental surgeon was a vociferous critic of the tooth for tooth policy of JVP and was a prime target during the JVP insurrection.

He was critically injured in a blast at the Grand Pass election rally conducted to support Ossie Abeygunasekera's presidential election campaign in 1988. Two pieces of shrapnel still remain inside his skull.^[3] He was elected to the Western Provincial Council in 1988 from the USA with which SLMP was in an alliance. He unsuccessfully contested the 1989 General Elections under USA ticket. When Ossie Abeygunasekera,the successor of Vijaya to the SLMP leadership, started to gravitate towards the Premadasa Regimn,Rajitha broke away from SLMP and formed Bahujana Nidahas Peramuna (BNP)which would shelter Chandrika Kumaratunga when she return to Sri Lanka in few years time. Later Rajitha later joined UNP which appointed him as a national list MP in the Wijethunga government and became a bitter critic of Chandrika.^[4]

In 1994 he was elected to the parliament from Kaluthara District under UNP cadidature. He was the fire brand of the opposition benches from 1994 to 1999 and played a pivotal role in the debate over Channel-9 scandal. He openly challenged the self declared education qualifications of Chandika. In 1999 the courts disqualified him from doing business with the state and was unseated from the parliament.^[5] However,UNP re-appointed him to the vacancy created by his own unseating.^[6]

He was re-elected at the 2000 General elections and secured his seat at every election held thereafter.

In 2007 he crossed over to the UPFA ruling government and held an important cabinet ministerial post in the Rajapaksa Government. He topped the list of the Kaluthara District at many elections but was dragged down to the second slot at the 2010 General Elections by Kumara Welgama. He was awarded the portfolio of Fishing and Aquatic Resources in the cabinet.

In 2014 as the Sri Lankan presidential election, 2015 nears he defected alongside Maithripala Sirisena complaining about nepotism and corruption of the government and supporting Maithripala as the common candidate.

See also

• Cabinet of Sri Lanka

References

• Biographies of Present Members

• "Old Nalandians elected MPs to be felicitated". Daily News. Retrieved 2002-03-27. 

← Members of 14th Parliament of Sri Lanka (2010 (2010)–) → Speaker: Chamal Rajapaksa Prime Minister: D. M. Jayaratne/Ranil Wickremasinghe Leader of the Opposition: Ranil Wickremasinghe/Nimal Siripala de Silva Western Colombo Sarath Fonseka A. H. M. Fowzie Praba Ganeshan Mohan Lal Grero Bandula Gunawardane Dinesh Gunawardena Sunil Handunnetti Ravi Karunanayake Jeevan Kumaratunga Gamini Lokuge Susil Premajayanth Wijeyadasa Rajapaksa Champika Ranawaka Sujeewa Senasinghe Rosy Senanayake Duminda Silva Thilanga Sumathipala Wimal Weerawansa Ranil Wickramasinghe Gampaha Lasantha Alagiyawanna John Amaratunga Pandu Bandaranaike Sudarshani Fernandopulle Sarath Kumara Gunaratne Sarana Gunawardena Vijitha Herath Karu Jayasuriya Jayalath Jayawardena Ajith Mannapperuma Felix Perera Basil Rajapaksa Ruwan Ranatunga Athuraliye Rathana Wasantha Senanayake Mervyn Silva Upeksha Swarnamali Dulip Wijeysekara Ruwan Wijewardene Kalutara Rohitha Abeygunawardena Reginald Cooray Nirmala Kotalawala Ajith Perera Arjuna Ranatunga Mahinda Samarasinghe Rajitha Senaratne Palitha Thewarapperuma Kumara Welgama Vidura Wickremenayake Central Mahanuwara Mahindananda Aluthgamage Dilum Amunugama Sarath Amunugama Abdul Cadar S. B. Dissanayake Rauff Hakeem M. H. A. Haleem Lakshman Kiriella Faiszer Musthapha Keheliya Rambukwella Lohan Ratwatte Eric Prasanna Weerawardena Matale Wasantha Aluwihare Rohana Dissanayake Nandimithra Ekanayake Lakshman Wasantha Perera Janaka Bandara Tennakoon Nuwara Eliya Palani Digambaran Navin Dissanayake Sri Ranga Jeyaratnam Velusami Radhakrishnan Perumal Rajathurai C. B. Rathnayake Arumugam Thondaman Southern Galle Piyasena Gamage Sajin Vass Gunawardena Gayantha Karunathilaka Ajith Kumara Nishantha Muthuhettigamage Manusha Nanayakkara Ramesh Pathirana Mohan De Silva Chandima Weerakkody Gunaratna Weerakoon Matara Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena Wijaya Dahanayake Chandrasiri Gajadeera Hemal Gunasekara Sanath Jayasuriya Buddhika Pathirana Mangala Samaraweera Hambantota Mahinda Amaraweera V. K. Indika Wehella Kankanamge Indika Sajith Premadasa Chamal Rajapaksa Namal Rajapaksa Nirupama Rajapaksa Dilip Wedaarachchi Northern Jaffna Silvestri Alantine Murugesu Chandrakumar Douglas Devananda Vijayakala Maheswaran Suresh Premachandran Eswarapatham Saravanapavan Mavai Senathirajah Sivagnanam Sritharan Appathurai Vinayagamoorthy Vanni Selvam Adaikalanathan Sivasakthy Ananthan Risad Badhiutheen Hunais Farook Muthali Bawa Farook Noordeen Mashoor Vino Noharathalingam Eastern Batticaloa Pakkiyaselvam Ariyanethiran Alim Mohamed Hisbulla Basheer Segu Dawood Pon Selvarasa Seeniththamby Yogeswaran Digamadulla A. L. M. Athaullah P. Dayaratna Cassim Faizal H. M. M. Harees Podiappuhamy Piyasena Sarath Weerasekara Sriyani Wijewickrama Trincomalee Susantha Punchinilame M. K. A. D. S. Gunawardana Rajavarothiam Sampanthan M. S. Thowfeek North Western Kurunegala Ashoka Abeysinghe K. W. Shantha Bandara Indika Bandaranayake Tharanath Basnayaka Salinda Dissanayake T. B. Ekanayake Johnston Fernando Jayarathna Herath Nalin Bandara Jayamaha Dayasiri Jayasekara Akila Viraj Kariyawasam S.B. Nawinne Gamini Jayawickrama Perera Neranjan Wickramasinghe Nimal Wijesinghe Anura Priyadharshana Yapa Puttalam Palitha Range Bandara Arundika Fernando Milroy Fernando Piyankara Jayaratne Niroshan Perera Neomal Perera Victor Anthony Perera Dayasritha Thissera North Central Anuradhapura Chandrani Bandara Jayasinghe S. M. Chandrasena Duminda Dissanayake P. Weerakumara Dissanayake W. B. Ekanayake P. Harrison Tissa Karalliyadde Sarath Chandrasiri Muthukumarana Asanka Shehan Semasinghe Polonnaruwa Earl Gunasekara Roshan Ranasinghe Siripala Gamalath Maithripala Sirisena C. A. Suriyaarachchi Uva Badulla Lal Chamika Buddhadasa Nimal Siripala De Silva Harin Fernando Udith Lokubandara Dilan Perera Rohana Pushpakumara Lakshman Senewiratne Amith Thenuka Vidanagamage Monaragala Vijitha Berugoda Sumedha G. Jayasena R.M. Ranjith Madduma Bandara A. P. Jagath Pushpakumara Gamini Vijith Wijithamuni De Zoysa Sabaragamuwa Ratnapura Thalatha Atukorale Dunesh Gankanda Premalal Jayasekara Vasudeva Nanayakkara Ranjan Ramanayake Sanee Rohana Kodithuvakku W. D. J. Senewiratne Ranjith de Zoysa Pavithra Devi Wanniarachchi Janaka Wakkumbura Kegalle Jagath Balasuriya Lalith Dissanayake Kanaka Herath Kabir Hashim H. R. Mithrapala A. D. Champika Premadasa Y. G. Padmasiri Athauda Seneviratne Ranjith Siyambalapitiya National List UPFA Dullas Alahapperuma A.H.M. Asvar Malini Fonseka Achala Jagodage D. M. Jayaratne D. E. W. Gunasekera Gitanjana Gunawardena Ellawala Medhananda Thero Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan G. L. Peiris Janaka Priyantha Bandara Kamala Ranathunga Muthu Sivalingam J. R. P. Suriyapperuma Ratnasiri Wickremanayake Rajiva Wijesinha Tissa Vitharana UNF Hasen Ali M. S. M. Aslam Tissa Attanayake Harsha de Silva Anoma Gamage M. Joseph Michael Perera D. M. Swaminathan Eran Wickramaratne Ramaiah Yogarajan DNA Tiran Alles Anura Kumara Dissanayaka TNA M. A. Sumanthiran

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