Harini Amarasuriya: 7 things to know about Sri Lanka’s first female PM in 25 years

Days after getting a new President, Sri Lanka on Tuesday got Harini Amarasuriya as its new Prime Minister who became the first woman leader to hold the post since Sirimavo Bandaranaike in 2000.  

Amarasuriya, a national executive committee member of the National People’s Power (NPP), was administered the oath by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at a ceremony in the capital, Colombo.

7 things about Sri Lanka’s new PM Harini Amarasuriya

1 - Daughter of a homemaker mother and a tea plantation father, Amarasuriya is the first one to enter politics from her family.
 
2 - 54-year-old Amarasuriya is an academic, rights activist, and university lecturer and is known for her work in education and social justice.

3 - She has served as a senior lecturer in Sociology and Social Anthropology in the Department of Social Sciences of Open University, Sri Lanka and has made significant contributions to social justice and education in the country.

4 - She is the first academic-turned-politician to take charge of the prime minister of Sri Lanka.  

5 - Amarasuriya entered Parliament through the NPP national list in 2020.

6 - Born on March 6, 1970, the NPP parliamentarian is the 16th prime minister of Sri Lanka, and the third woman to reach that office after Sirimavo Bandarnaike (1994-2000) and Chandrika Kumartunga (1994).

7 - Amarasuriya is the first female Prime Minister of Sri Lanka since Sirimavo Bandaranaike took office in 1994 and the third woman to serve in this capacity in Sri Lanka’s history.

Her appointment as PM is seen as a significant step forward for gender representation in Sri Lankan politics and is expected to inspire a new generation of female leaders.