The 73-year-old leader, who had previously held several cabinet posts, took the oath on Friday morning, a day later Wickremesinghe was appointed President. Wickremesinghe succeeded former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who resigned and fled to Singapore after months of protests by agitated Sri Lankans.

Gunawardena is a hard-nosed leftist from a prominent Sri Lankan political family that played a role in India’s freedom struggle.

Who is Dinesh Gunawardena?

Gunawardena, a political veteran, is the leader of the Trotskyist majority nationalist Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP), which is a constituent party of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) in Sri Lanka.

In a political career spanning more than five decades, the 73-year-old previously served as the country’s foreign and education minister. Most recently, in April, he was appointed interior minister of the island state by former President Rajapaksa.

The Gunawardena family has played a prominent role in Sri Lanka’s political history. His father, Philip Gunawardena, was one of the first leaders to introduce left-wing socialism to Sri Lanka before the country’s independence from the British in 1948. Widely known as the “Father of Socialism in Sri Lanka” and “Lion of Boralugoda” Philip was the founder of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), the first political party in Sri Lanka to introduce Marxism to the island nation. While his mother Kusuma was one of the first female MPs, his two brothers were also ministers in Parliament.

After the death of his father in 1979, Dinesh took over leadership of the MEP. He first entered Parliament in 1983, representing a Colombo suburb called Maharagama. According to the PTI news agency, he later became a leading opposition figure until 1994.

Gunawardena studied at the prestigious Royal College in Colombo, where he was a classmate of Wickremsinghe. He then earned an associate degree in management and business administration from the Netherlands Business University and a BBA in international business from the University of Oregon.

The Indian connection of the Gunawardena family

Gunawardena’s parents were both involved in the Indian freedom movement. While studying in London, the Prime Minister’s father, Philip, had close contact with Jawaharlal Nehru and Krishna Menon.

In 1942 Philip fled to India when he was rejected for his participation in the anti-colonial movement. He is said to have taken part in the Indian freedom struggle. He was later joined by his wife Kusuma and their eldest son Indika was born in Mumbai.

According to ANI, he helped promote the cooperative movement in India by establishing the Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society System (MPCS).

Challenging road ahead

With Sri Lanka in the midst of a severe economic crisis, both Gunawardena and Wickremesinghe have been kept busy. Inflation rates are at an all-time high and the country hasn’t had enough cash to pay for importing essentials, including food and medicines.

Late last month, Wickremesinghe said the island nation’s debt-ridden economy had “collapsed” and was heading for a “bottom”.