Sri Lanka: Biographic data on new Cabinet

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 COLOMBO 000647

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS, INR/NESA; PLS PASS TO USTR J.
ROSENBAUM

NSC FOR E. MILLARD; TREASURY FOR R. ADKINS; COMMERCE FOR

A. BENAISSA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04-15-14
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL PINR ECON CE
SUBJECT: Sri Lanka: Biographic data on new Cabinet
ministers

Refs: Colombo 637, and previous

(U) Classified by Ambassador Jeffrey J. Lunstead.
Reasons 1.5 (b,d).


1. (C) As reported Reftel, Sri Lanka's new cabinet was
sworn in on April 10. (FYI. President Kumaratunga
retained control of the defense and internal security
portfolios -- see Reftels. Due to a dispute with
President Kumaratunga, the radical Janatha Vimukthi
Peramuna, "JVP," has not yet assumed the handful of
ministerial positions it was promised before the
election.) Biographic data on key ministers follows:

BEGIN BIO-DATA:

(Biographic data on new Prime Minister Mahinda
Rajapakse, who is also Minister of Highways, is
contained in Reftels.)

-- Lakshman KADIRGAMAR, 70, is the new Minister of
Foreign Affairs. He is also a senior Sri Lanka Freedom
Party (SLFP) MP and a close adviser to President
Kumaratunga. Kadirgamar was foreign minister from 1994
to 2001 in the then-People's Alliance (PA) government.
Oxford-educated, Kadirgamar was an extremely successful
lawyer and was considered a world-class authority on
intellectual property rights before joining the PA
government in 1994. During his previous tenure as
foreign minister, Kadirgamar's key duty was dealing with
the ethnic conflict, and, in that role, he served as
international spokesman for the GSL's perspective on the
war. He was also heavily involved in the public
presentation of the GSL's policies on the war to the Sri
Lankan public. In general, Kadirgamar is a moderate on
peace-related issues, expressing strong support for a
negotiated settlement to the conflict and moves toward
ethnic reconciliation. He is also a strong advocate of
human rights protections. He remains deeply suspicious
of the Tiger leadership and is reluctant to trust the
group too much in the negotiating process. The Tigers
do not look at Kadirgamar, a fellow Tamil, in a positive
fashion, to put it mildly. (His house in Colombo is
heavily guarded by GSL security forces due to concerns
of a possible attack by the Tigers.) While friendly to
the U.S., Kadirgamar is an advocate of "NAM," "G-77"
approaches on international issues. He is a Christian
and is married.

-- Anura BANDARANAIKE, 54, is the new Minister of
Industry, Tourism and Investment Promotion. He is the
younger brother of President Kumaratunga and a senior
SLFP MP. Bandaranaike first entered Parliament in 1983
and continues to represent Gampaha District, which is
located northeast of Colombo. Bandaranaike has had a
checkered political career, joining the SLFP in 1973,
but resigning to join the United National Party (UNP) in

1993. He was Speaker of Parliament for a brief period
from 2000-2001 and, in late 2001, suddenly rejoined the
SLFP. Bandaranaike is known to have an up-and-down
relationship with his sister, the President, but he has
access to her and is known to provide her with advice on
political issues. He has made no secret of his desire
to succeed his sister as leader of the SLFP and to
become president of the country one day. Of late, he
has cultivated ties to the radical JVP. Bandaranaike
was an International Visitor Program (IVP) participant
in 1975. He was educated at Royal College, a
prestigious high school in Colombo, and the University
of London. He often vacations in the Los Angeles area.
A bluff, heavy-set man with various health problems, he
is not married and is Sinhalese Buddhist.

-- Sarath AMUNUGAMA, 64, is the new Minister of Finance.
He is a senior SLFP MP from the central district of
Kandy and serves as spokesman for his party. He began
his career as a government civil servant before entering
Parliament in 1994. He was minister of local
governments in the previous PA government. Amunugama
has international experience, having served at UNESCO in
Paris in the late 1980's. He was also an IVP
participant in 1971. An articulate, intelligent public
speaker, Amunugama is a SLFP hard-liner, with close ties
to the JVP. He holds two post-graduate degrees from
Canadian universities. He is Sinhalese Buddhist and
speaks excellent English.

-- Mangala SAMARAWEERA, 47, is the new Minister of Ports
and Aviation. He is a SLFP MP from Matara District in
the south. First elected to Parliament in 1989, he was
previously the main SLFP organizer for Matara, where his
father also served as an MP in the 1960s. He was
minister of posts and telecommunications in the previous
PA government. Samaraweera is a SLFP hard-liner and he
maintains close links with the JVP. A former academic,
Samaraweera attended the University of London and is
openly homosexual. He is Sinhalese Buddhist.

-- D.M. JAYARATNE, 62, is the new Minister of Posts and
Telecommunications and Upcountry Development. Jayaratne
first entered Parliament in 1970. He served as the
minister of agriculture, lands and forestry in the
previous PA government. The President appointed him as
the interim Minister of Posts and Telecommunications on
February 7 when she dissolved Parliament. He is a
longtime member of the SLFP and was an ally of S.W.R.D.
Bandaranaike, President Kumaratunga's father, when the
party was originally set up in the early 1950s. He
hails from Kandy District, and is married and a
Sinhalese Buddhist.

-- A.H.M. FOWZIE, 67, is the new Minister of Environment
and Natural Resources. He first entered Parliament in
1977 and was the first SLFP mayor of Colombo. Fowzie
was a member of the Provincial Council of the Western
Province in the early 1990s, and was also the minister
of health, highways, and social services in the previous
PA government. Fowzie is a moderate in SLFP ranks and
sometimes has come into conflict with hard-liners like
Amunugama and Samaraweera. He is well-traveled and
articulate, and friendly to the U.S. He writes poetry.
He is a Muslim and is married.

-- Jeyaraj FERNANDOPULLE, 51, is the new Minister of
Trade, Commerce, and Consumer Affairs. He first entered
Parliament in 1989. He was the deputy minister of
planning, ethnic affairs and national integration in the
previous PA government and also served as the minister
of airport aviation from 2000-2001. He is a SLFP
moderate. An attorney-at-law, Fernandopulle is a
Sinhalese Catholic from Negombo District north of
Colombo and is married.

-- Maithripala SIRISENA, 53, is the new Minister of
River Basin Development and Rajarata (North-Central
Province) Development. He first entered Parliament in

1989. He holds a diploma in agriculture and is
currently the secretary of the SLFP. Sirisena was the
deputy minister of irrigation in the previous PA
government and served as minister of Mahaweli (river
basin) development from 2000-2001. As a "rustic"-style
politician, he is popular in rural areas of the country.
He is a Sinhalese Buddhist and is married.

-- Dinesh GUNAWARDENA, 55, is the new Minister of Urban
Development and Water Supply. He first entered
Parliament in 1983 through a by-election. He comes from
a prominent political family that holds diverse views.
One of his brothers, Prasanna, is the UNP mayor of
Colombo and another brother, Indika, is a leader of the
Sri Lanka's small Communist Party. Gunawardena
represents the small Mahajama Eksath Peramuna (MEP)
party. The MEP, which is a Trotskyite party, was
founded by Gunawardena's father, Philip, and was very
strong in the 1940s and 1950s. He holds a degree from
the University of Oregon. Gunawardena was the minister
of transport from 2000-2001 in the then-PA government.
He is a lively conversationalist and friendly to the
U.S. (despite his party affiliation.) He is an
attorney-at-law. A Sinhalese Buddhist, he is a widower.

-- Ferial ASHRAFF, 50, is the new Minister of Housing
and Construction Industry, Eastern Province Education
and Irrigation Development. She is also the leader of
the National Unity Alliance (NUA),a Muslim party. In
2000-2001, Ashraff served as the minister of Eastern
development, rural housing, rehabilitation and
reconstruction. She is the widow of M.H.M. Ashraff, who
was a former minister of port development and shipping,
in addition to being the founder of the Sri Lanka Muslim
Congress (SLMC). (Ashraff formed the NUA, after she
lost control of the SLMC in 2001.) Ashraff is easily
approachable, but seems to lack ease in the hustle-and-
bustle of Sri Lankan politics. Ashraff has one son, who
is 22 years old.

-- Douglas DEVANANDA, 50, is the new Minister of
Agricultural Marketing Development, Hindu Affairs and
Tamil Language Schools and Vocational Training. He
first entered Parliament in 1994. Devananda is also
Secretary General of the Eelam People's Democratic Party

SIPDIS
(EPDP),a Tamil party that is opposed to the Tamil
Tigers. He was the leader of the paramilitary wing of
the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front
(EPRLF) until 1985, when he left the EPRLF and formed
the EPDP. He is a friendly well-informed, interlocutor,
who is out-and-about on the Colombo cocktail circuit.
He hails from Jaffna. A Tamil, he is married and speaks
good English.

-- John SENIVIRATNE, 63, is the new Minister of Justice
and Judicial Reforms. Seniviratne first entered
Parliament in 1989. He is an attorney-at-law. He was
the deputy minister of education in the previous PA
government and was also minister of health from 2000-

2001. He is a Sinhalese Buddhist and is married.

-- A.L.M. ATHAULLA, 46, is the new Minister of
Infrastructure Development in the Eastern Province.
Athaulla entered Parliament in 2000, and briefly served
as minister of highways in 2003. In early 2004,
Athaulla led a group of several SLMC MPs from the east
that broke away from the main SLMC. He is now the
leader of the "Athaulla faction" of the SLMC. He is a
roughhewn politician, used to party infighting. On
international issues, he is said to be somewhat critical
of U.S. policy in the Middle East, including regarding
Iraq. A Muslim, Athaulla is married and has four
children.

-- Reginald COORAY, 58, is the new Minister of
Information and Media. Cooray is a former Chief
Minister of the Western Province and first entered
Parliament in 1994. He is very close to President
Kumaratunga. He is a lively conversationalist. He is a
Sinhalese Catholic and is married. He speaks excellent
English and is quite wealthy from land holdings.

-- Amarasiri DODANGODA, 62, is the new Minister of
Public Administration and Home Affairs. Dodangoda first
entered Parliament in May 1983 after contesting a by-
election in the southern district of Galle. An
attorney-at-law, he was the minister of cooperatives,
provincial councils and indigenous medicine in the
previous PA government. He is married and a Sinhalese
Buddhist.

-- Milroy FERNANDO, 60, is the new Minister of Christian
and Parliamentary Affairs. Fernando first entered
Parliament in 1989. He is a businessman who has vast
experience in the coconut and coir industries. (Coir is
a material used to make rope.) Fernando was a member of
the North-West Province Provincial Council in the early
1990s, and was the deputy minister of fisheries and
aquatic resources in the PA government. He is affable
by personality. He is a Sinhalese Catholic and is
married. He hails from Negombo District. He speaks
good English.

-- Sumedha JAYASENA, 52, is the new Minister of Women's
Empowerment and Social Welfare. Jayasena first entered
Parliament in 1994. She was the deputy minister of
Buddhist affairs in the PA government and was minister
of women's affairs from 2000-2001. She is a Sinhalese
Buddhist and a widow. She is from Moneragala District,
a poor district in southeastern Sri Lanka. She does not
speak good English.

-- Felix PERERA, 59, is the new Minister of Transport.
Perera first entered Parliament in 1994. A leading
businessman, he formed the Sri Lanka Mahajana Party in
1986 together with Vijaya Kumaratunga, the late husband
of President Kumaratunga. Since that time, he has been
a close associate of the President's. He is a Sinhalese
Catholic and is married. He speaks good English and
hails from Gampaha District.

-- Susil PREMAJAYANTHA, 49, is the new Minister of Power
and Energy. He is also the Secretary of the United
People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) (the UPFA is the
technical name of the SLFP-JVP combine). Premajayantha
first entered Parliament in 2000 and briefly served as
minister of education that same year. An attorney-at-
law, Premajayantha obtained his law degree from the
University of Colombo. Premajayantha has previously
held several government positions, including serving as
the Chief Minister of the Western Province from 1995-

1998. A former mayor of Kotte, a town outside of
Colombo, he is considered approachable. He is Sinhalese
Buddhist and is married.

-- Athauda SENEVIRATNE, 73, is the new Minister of Labor
Relations and Foreign Employment. Seneviratne first
entered parliament in 1970. A former educator, he is
strongly allied with the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP),
a now-minor Sinhalese leftist party that has lost much
of its power base since the 1970s. He was the deputy
minister of public administration, plantation industries
and parliamentary affairs in the former PA government.
He studied at St. Joseph's, a prestigious private high
school in Colombo. Seneviratne is Sinhalese Buddhist
and is married.

-- Anura Priyadarshana YAPA, 45, is the new Minister of
Plantation Industries. He first entered Parliament in

1994. Yapa previously served as a North-West Province
Provincial Council member in the early 1990s. He was
the deputy minister of information and media from 2000-
2001 in the then-PA government. Yapa was a participant
in an IVP program in 1996. He is from Kurunegala
District, northeast of Colombo. He is considered a
dynamic, up-and-coming politician. An attorney-at-law,
Yapa is Sinhalese Buddhist and is married.
END BIO-DATA.

2. (U) Minimize considered.

LUNSTEAD