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Gotabaya Rajapaksa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ கோட்டாபய ராஜபக்ஷ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Rajapaksa in 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8th President of Sri Lanka | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 18 November 2019 – 14 July 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Ranil Wickremesinghe Mahinda Rajapaksa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Maithripala Sirisena | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Ranil Wickremesinghe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa 20 June 1949 Palatuwa, Dominion of Ceylon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Citizenship | Sri Lanka (1949–2003, 2005–present)[1][2][3] United States (2003–2019)[4][5] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse |
Ayoma Rajapaksa (m. 1980) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parent(s) | Don Alwin Rajapaksa (father) Dandina Samarasinghe née Dissanayake (mother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relatives | Chamal (brother) Mahinda (brother) Basil (brother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | Sri Lanka Military Academy University of Colombo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | gota.lk | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Military service | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allegiance |  Sri Lanka | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Branch/service |  Sri Lanka Army | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years of service | 1971–1991 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank |  Lieutenant Colonel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unit | Gajaba Regiment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commands | 1st Gajaba Regiment General Sir John Kotelawala Defence Academy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Battles/wars | Sri Lankan Civil War 1987–1989 JVP insurrection | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Awards | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa RWP, RSP (Sinhala: නන්දසේන ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ; Tamil: நந்தசேன கோட்டாபய ராஜபக்ஷ; born 20 June 1949) is a Sri Lankan retired politician and military officer who served as the eighth President of Sri Lanka from 18 November 2019 until his resignation on 14 July 2022.[6] Before his presidency, he served as Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development from 2005 to 2015 during the regime of his brother, president Mahinda Rajapaksa, playing a central role in the final phase of the Sri Lankan Civil War.
Born to a political family from the Southern Province, Rajapaksa was educated at Ananda College, Colombo and joined the Ceylon Army in April 1971. Following basic training at the Army Training Centre, Diyatalawa, he was commissioned as signals officer and later transferred to several infantry regiments.[citation needed] He saw active service in the early stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War with the elite Gajaba Regiment, taking part in several major offensives such as the Vadamarachi Operation, Operation Strike Hard and Operation Thrividha Balaya, as well as counterinsurgency operations during the 1987–1989 JVP insurrection. As Defence Secretary, he oversaw the military defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009. He was a target of an assassination attempt in December 2006 by a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber.
After stepping down in 2015 following his brother's electoral defeat, Rajapaksa returned to politics and ran for presidency in 2019 as a candidate of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna. Campaigning on a nationalistic and security-heavy platform, he became the first Sri Lankan president with a military background and no prior elected office experience.[7]
His administration mishandled the COVID-19 pandemic response and drove Sri Lanka into an economic crisis, leading the country to default on its debts in 2022. Massive shortages, inflation, and public outrage culminated in nationwide protests and civil unrest. Rajapaksa's government responded with authoritarian crackdowns: state of emergency declarations, curfews, military-led arrests, suppression of dissent, and assaults on journalists and demonstrators. Refusing to resign for months, even as the crisis spiraled, he finally fled Sri Lanka aboard a military aircraft on 13 July 2022, entering self-imposed exile for 50 days.[8][9] He officially resigned via email from Singapore the next day, becoming the first Sri Lankan president to resign midway into his term. Rajapaksa later returned to Sri Lanka on 2 September 2022.
- ^ "CT finds Gota's true U.S. renunciation certificate". Ceylon Today. 1 August 2019. Archived from the original on 7 October 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
- ^ "Police to probe Gota's citizenship, passports". Daily FT. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 10 August 2019. Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- ^ "Gota's Lanka citizenship in doubt, candidacy under cloud". The Island. Colombo, Sri Lanka. 22 September 2019. Archived from the original on 24 June 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- ^ Singh, Anurangi (29 September 2019). "Gota's citizenship challenged in Court of Appeal". Sunday Observer. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 1 February 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- ^ "People want non-traditional politicians – Gotabhaya Rajapaksa". dailymirror.lk. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
- ^ "Sri Lanka: President Gotabaya has officially stepped down". Sri Lanka News – Newsfirst. 15 July 2022. Archived from the original on 15 July 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
- ^ "Sri Lankan President Gotabaya, the first person with military credentials to be elected as President". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 25 November 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
- ^ "Plane Said to Carry Sri Lanka's President Most-Tracked in World". Bloomberg. 14 July 2022. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- ^ "Sri Lanka: President Gotabaya Rajapaksa flees the country on military jet". BBC. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.