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Anura is new Foreign Minister

V.S. Sambandan

He succeeds Lakshman Kadirgamar

COLOMBO: Anura Bandaranaike, a senior Sri Lankan Cabinet Minister, was on Monday appointed new Foreign Affairs Minister succeeding Lakshman Kadirgamar, who was assassinated in Colombo on August 12 by a suspected LTTE gunman.

Born on February 15, 1949, Mr. Bandaranaike is the younger brother of Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga. Their parents S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and Sirimavo Bandaranaike were both Prime Ministers of the island-nation.

Mr. Bandaranaike had his schooling at the prestigious Royal College in Colombo (1956-66), where he and Leader of the Opposition and former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe were classmates. He graduated from the University of London (1970-73).

An MP since he entered Parliament in 1977, he was elected Leader of the Opposition on November 8, 1983 after the TULF left Parliament refusing to take oath disavowing secession. He was the Leader of the Opposition till the re-entry of his mother to Parliament.

Prior to his formal entry into politics, he took active part in the general elections of 1965, 1970 and 1977. Mr. Bandaranaike has also been the president of the U.K. and Europe branch of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (1971-72) and the vice-president of the Anti-Fascist and Anti-Zionist Organisation based in Libya. He was president of the SLFP's Youth League (1978-1981).

With the entry of Ms. Kumaratunga into politics and subsequently her assumption of the SLFP leadership, Mr. Bandaranaike crossed over to the United National Party in 1993 and was briefly a Minister.

When the UNP lost power in 1994, Mr. Bandaranaike was again in the ranks of the Opposition.

After the 2000 Parliamentary election, he was unanimously elected Speaker. Just before the December 2001 snap parliamentary poll, Mr. Bandaranaike rejoined the SLFP, but the party was defeated in that election.

When the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) was formed last year, Mr. Bandaranaike was named its national organiser and was sworn in Minister of Industry, Investment Promotion and Tourism after the UPFA won the snap Parliamentary poll in April 2004. Mr. Bandaranaike will continue to hold the Tourism portfolio, the President's office said. Finance Minister Sarath Amunugama has been given additional portfolio of Industry and Investment Promotion. Mr. Bandaranaike had earlier made public his intention to run for Presidency after Ms. Kumaratunga's term ended, but had last month backed the party's candidate, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse.

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