Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa is a Sri Lankan politician and former military officer currently serving as the 8th President of Sri Lanka since 2019.
He has previously served as Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development from 2005 to 2015 under the administration of his elder brother former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, leading the Sri Lankan Armed Forces to the military defeat of the Tamil Tigers, which ended the Sri Lankan Civil War.
Highlights of the Sri Lankan Economic Crisis: The government imposes a 36-hour curfew across the country amid protests.
Sri Lanka Economic Crisis highlights: Anger against Rajapaksa’s handling of a deepening economic crisis in the island nation of 22 million people spiralled into violence late on Thursday.
Amid nationwide protests over the country’s greatest economic crisis in decades, the Sri Lankan government has imposed a curfew from Saturday 6 p.m. to Monday 6 a.m., according to Reuters. Late Friday, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa proclaimed a statewide state of emergency. As demonstrations calling for his ouster grew across the South Asian nation, the President invoked strong rules permitting the military to arrest and jail detainees for long periods of time without charge or trial.
Meanwhile, Lanka IOC, the subsidiary of Indian Oil Corporation in Sri Lanka, said Friday it would supply 6,000 MT of fuel to ease the power shortages. On Saturday, Indian traders said they were in the process of shipping 40,000 tonnes of rice to Sri Lanka, according to a report in Reuters.
Anger over Rajapaksa’s handling of the island nation’s mounting economic problems boiled into violence late Thursday, with hundreds of protestors clashing with police for several hours. Due to a significant lack of foreign money, Rajapaksa’s government has been unable to pay for basic imports, like as fuel, resulting in power outages lasting up to 13 hours.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa Age, Birthday, Family and early Life
Gotabaya Rajapaksa was born on 20 June 1949(Age 73 Years) in Palatuwa in the Matara District, as the fifth of nine siblings, and was brought up in Weeraketiya in the southern rural district of Hambantota. His father, D. A. Rajapaksa, was a prominent politician, independence agitator, Member of Parliament, Deputy Speaker and Cabinet Minister of Agriculture and Land in Wijeyananda Dahanayake’s government.
His elder brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa was first elected to parliament as a member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party at the age of 24 in 1970. Rajapaksa mothers name is Dandina Samarasinghe née Dissanayake. His zodiac sign is Gemini.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa career, What was his profession?
By the end of his military training and education, communal violence between the country’s Sinhalese population and Tamil minority had been growing. The conflict erupted into large-scale violence in 1983 after the killing of 13 soldiers by Tamil guerrillas. Rajapaksa participated in the counterinsurgency against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; also called the Tamil Tigers) and other Tamil separatists, notably commanding a regiment in May–June 1987 during Operation Liberation in Vadamarachchi.
In 1991 he served as deputy commandant of General Sir John Kotelawal Defence University. In 1998 he emigrated to the United States and worked at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles as an IT professional. He became a U.S. citizen in 2003 and thereby lost his citizenship in Sri Lanka. In 2005 he returned to Sri Lanka to aid the presidential campaign of his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa. When Mahinda became president, Gotabaya was appointed secretary to the Ministry of Defense and regained his citizenship.
In 2019 Gotabaya Rajapaksa was put forward as the presidential candidate of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), a party founded by another brother, Basil.
For many Sri Lankans wary of the government’s ineffectiveness under Sirisena in addressing the debt crisis, its political instability, and its inability to prevent the 2019 Easter terror attacks on the country, Rajapaksa offered a promise of progress, stability, and security. In November he was elected to the presidency along ethno-religious lines; he lacked support from Tamil and Muslim voters, who were fearful of restoring to power a family known for its brutality in the civil war. Days after taking office, Gotabaya appointed Mahinda prime minister.
In 2019 Gotabaya Rajapaksa was put forward as the presidential candidate of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), a party founded by another brother, Basil. For many Sri Lankans wary of the government’s ineffectiveness under Sirisena in addressing the debt crisis, its political instability, and its inability to prevent the 2019 Easter terror attacks on the country, Rajapaksa offered a promise of progress, stability, and security. In November he was elected to the presidency along ethno-religious lines; he lacked support from Tamil and Muslim voters, who were fearful of restoring to power a family known for its brutality in the civil war. Days after taking office, Gotabaya appointed Mahinda prime minister.
Which school did he go to?
Furthermore, After finishing his secondary education at Ananda College in Colombo, Gotabaya Rajapaksa joined the Sri Lankan army in 1971. He underwent training and coursework in India (at Wellington), in Pakistan (at Rawalpindi and Quetta), and in the United States (at Fort Benning, Georgia). He earned a master’s degree in defense studies at the University of Madras in 1983.
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Is Gotabaya Rajapaksa dating married? Who is his Wife?
Gotabaya Rajapaksa is a married man. Sri Lanka’s current first lady is Ioma Rajapaksa, the wife of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who has held the position since 2019. They also have a son named Manoj Rajapaksa.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa Net worth, how much does he earn?
As for his Net worth it is estimated to be $10 million.
Is he available on any kind of social media platform?
He is seen active on Instagram as gotabayar with 245k+ followers. He is also available on twitter as @GotabayaR with 345.4k+ followers.
Body Appearance of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Height, Weight
| Height | In Feet: 5 feet 6 inches Centimeter: 170 cm Meter: 1.70 m |
| Hair color | White |
| Eye color | Black |
| Weight | Kilogram: 79 Kg Pound: 174 lbs |
| Body type | Fit |
| Sexual orientation | Straight |
Interesting facts about Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s you should be know
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Ethnicity | Asian |
| Age | 73 Years |
| Relationship Status | Married |
| Spouses | Ioma Rajapaksa |
| Children | 1 |