Ranasinghe Premadasa
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Ranasinghe Premadasa (June 23, 1924 - May 1, 1993) was the President of Sri Lanka from January 2, 1989 to May 1, 1993. Before that, he served as the Prime Minister in government headed by J. R. Jayewardene from February 6, 1978 to March 3, 1989. He was assassinated in Colombo in a suicide bombing, widely considered to be by the LTTE.
Ranasinghe Premadasa came from a family of modest means. He attended St Joseph's College, Colombo at that time had started an oriental languages course. Richard Ranasingha wished his son to follow this course. He originally planned to be a journalist, and translated a authobiography of Jawaharlal Nehru to Sinhala.
He was a long time member of the conservative United National Party, and the first "commoner" to reach to the highest levels in Sri Lanka.
Part of his political program was shelter for the poor, due to which the United Nations declared a Year of Shelter, Jana Saviya, the instrument he used to help the poor, the foster parents scheme, the Gam Udawa project with which he tried to stir up the stupor in the villages, the mobile secretariat whereby he took the central government bureaucracy to the peasant, the Tower Hall Foundation for oriental drama and music, the pension schemes he initiated for the elder artistes, an unostentatious life led by him in his simple residence away from his luxurious official residence, a man who perhaps travelled the least as a politician at the helm, an oriental in the true sense of the word, are just a few among many of his achievements and qualities.
On the economic front, the garment industry project that he initiated became a forerunner in earning foreign exchange and provision of employment in the villages. This was just one step in the direction of taking the economy to the outstations.
He was married to Hema Premadasa and had two children. Sajith Premadasa, his son, is the MP for Hambantota. Ranasinghe Premadasa was killed on May 1st, 1993 by a LTTE suicide bomber who had infiltrated into his inner circle by befriending his private valet Mohideen.
