Sri Lanka’s President Anura Kumara Dissanayake swore in a 22-member Cabinet on Monday after his party secured a two-third parliamentary majority in last week’s election. We take a closer look at who these appointees are.

Dissanayake’s party won 159 of the 225 seats in Thursday's vote. He pledged to have fewer than 25 Cabinet members, and a majority of the new ministers are first-time lawmakers. He has retained the post of defense and finance minister. He also reappointed Harini Amarasuriya as prime minister. Vijitha Herath was reappointed as minister of foreign affairs and tourism.

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Prof. Chandana Abeyratne, Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils, Local Government

Prof Abeyratne is the leader of the National People Power's (NPP) Puttalam district, he heads the History Department of the Kelaniya University and is also a member of the National Executive Council member of the NPP which comprises trade union activists, university lecturers and doctors. 

Attorney Harshana Nanayakkara, Minister of Justice, and National Integration

Harshana Nanayakkara is the NPP's go-to lawyer for most court cases. One of the most recent cases he assissted in was against Deshabandu Tennakoon's appointment to the post of IGP. It was he who filed a petition before the Supreme Court, requesting the apex court to issue an order preventing the Constitutional Council from approving Deshabandu Tennekoon’s name as the Inspector General of Police (IGP). In previous interviews, Nanayakkara has staunchly defended the JVP. "You can blame them for violence in 1971 and 1988-89. Even my father’s life was under threat in 1988-89. But since then, the only party that has not even thrown a stone, or broken a traffic law, is the JVP. There are no allegations of corruption against them." he was quoted in a Daily Mirror interview. 

He is the son of film-maker Yasapalitha Nanayakkara and the nephew of Vasudeva and Hemakumara Nanayakkara, who have been prominent and somewhat controversial figures in national politics. 

Sarojani Savithri Paulraj, Minister of Women and Child Affairs

She is the chairperson of the JVP-led Women for Rights (WfR), a women's empowerment wing of the JVP. She is of Tamil origin and hails from the Matara District. She is outspoken on issues relating to women and children while several of her videos speaking in both Tamil and Sinhala can be found online on various topics. 

K.D. Lalkantha, Minister of Agriculture, Lands, Livestock and Irrigation

K.D Lalkantha entered the Sri Lankan parliament through the then United People's Freedom Alliance(UPFA). He has been the most vocal of the JVP lot during this past year. One of his recent remarks in parliament to empower villages in Sri Lanka to create and implement their laws resulted in a showdown between members of parliament. At the time Harini Amarasuriya defended him. In one of his speeches, Lalkantha declared that under a future NPP Government, villages would be empowered with the ability to create and enforce their laws. “We will provide the power or create a mechanism for your village to formulate laws. We will provide your village with the power to enforce these laws or judicial powers,” he said. “Therefore, we will initiate a new political revolution that empowers the people to enact laws, enforce them, and administer justice, ultimately reaching down to the grassroots level,” he declared. Lalkantha said the NPP will bring in a new constitution and a new form of Governance. “At the upcoming Presidential poll we should win it, dissolve Parliament and take steps to introduce direct democracy in addition to representative democracy as in developed countries,” he said. 

In another instance, he said only his party and one other led by extremist Sinhala monks are responsible for defeating “separatist terrorism” as he boasted of “ending” the island’s conflict “through war,” a day after Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day Addressing former military officers in Ratnapura during a party meeting, Lalkantha credited the JVP for mobilizing “ideological warfare” whilst the security forces took up arms. “You waged the struggle because it was clear who the enemy was, you cannot wage war without an enemy,” he told the audience. “There are only two political parties in Sri Lanka, which frankly said that this must be ended through war,” he continued. “Not the SLFP, not the UNP, not the SLPP. Only the JVP and JHU said that we must finish this by war and there is no other solution.”

Lalkantha is also though to be close with racist Sinhala monk Gnanasara, having openly posted photographs with the extremist.

His appointment as minister of land, at a time when there is ongoing state sponsored Sinhalisation and occupation of land in the North-East, has concerned many Tamils.

Anura Karunathilake, Minister of Urban Development, Construction and Housing

 Dr. Anura Karunathilake is a Senior Lecturer in Mathematics from the University of Kelaniya.

Ramalingam Chandrasekar, Minister of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources

Chandrasekar is a Malayiah Tamil who has been based in Jaffna for many years. He has been outspoken on the anti-Tamil Black July pogrom often blaming Ranil Wickremesinghe and the government at the time for carrying out the massacre. In one of his recent media briefing, he urged Tamils to recall that it was Wickremesinghe's government that was the main architect of the anti-Tamil Black July pogrom in 1983.  “Ranil has been the Prime Minister five times yet he has not done anything for this country in 47 years of his political career,”  Chandrasekar told reporters in Jaffna. “Let’s not forget that during one of these times when Ranil was in power, his government engineered the anti-Tamil pogrom which saw the senseless massacre of tens of thousands of Tamils.”  Chandrasekar told reporters that when the riots took place in Colombo and across the country, a United National Party was in power, the same party that Wickremesinghe today leads. Wickremesinghe was a minister at the time.

Prof. Upali Pannilage, Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment

Upali Pannilage is the is currently working as a professor in sociology at the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Ruhuna. 

Sunil Handunneththi, Minister of Industry  and Entrepreneurship Development

Sunil Handunnetti is no stranger to the JVP. He has in the past made several statements that have often revealed the true stance of the JVP on many issues ranging from the 13th Amendment to the national question. He once said that his party the JVP has the biggest bank account in Sri Lanka. He said this while attending a discussion with Kalpa Gunaratne, a social media activist. During another interview, he revealed that his party is not in agreement with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. 

Speaking on the 13th Amendment during an interview with Ada Derana, Handunnetti revealed that the National People’s Power (NPP) does not accept the Amendment to any extent, adding that the JVP too is vehemently against the legislature. “The difference between the current state of Provincial Councils and that following the implementation of the 13th Amendment is the devolving of police and land powers. Where are these police and land powers now? They are within the constitution, but cannot be implemented as the people do not want this."

Ananda Wijepala, Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs

Ananda Wijepala, an official in the administration field, has been appointed as the personal secretary of the new President, Anura Kumara Dissanayake. He also worked as President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s private secretary when he was the Cabinet Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation, Lands, and Livestock. He also served as the Director of the Secretariat of the Anti-Corruption Committee.  Wijepala, National Organizer of the NPP's National Intellectual Organization and private secretary to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake was appointed Cabinet Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs.

Bimal Rathnayake, Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation

Rathnayake recently described the NPP winning Jaffna as "the crown of this victory", however, he was once a virulently anti-Tamil politician. Recently he came to the defence of Tilvin Silva when Silva made remarks about the Tamil's disregard for devolution. Rathnayake, claimed remarks made by his colleague and party secretary Tilvin Silva which side-lined Tamil demands for devolution did not occur, as he addressed party supporters in Vavuniya.  “We know for certain because we have been to the North that the common man on the street does not want the 13th Amendment,” he claimed referring to a constitutional amendment which calls for a merged North-East and the devolution of police and land powers to the province. For decades, New Delhi has called for it to be implemented and continues to do so, even though the JVP has been staunchly opposed. Tamils have criticised it for not going far enough in its devolution of powers.

Prof. Hiniduma, Sunil Senevi Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs

Senevi is a professor of Social Sciences and Languages at the Sabaragamuwa University. He is often seen at the Socialist Students’ Union (SSU) protests and events. 

Dr. Nalinda Jayathissa, Minister of Health and Media

Jayathissa is a senior member of the National People's Power, he was elected to the Parliament in 2024 from Kalutara District. He was previously elected from Kalutara District in 2015 and lost at 2020 election. 

Samantha Vidyarathna, Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure

NPP’s Samantha Vidyaratna has polled the highest number of preferential votes in the Badulla District. 

Sunil Kumara, Gamage Minister Youth Affairs and Sports

A  Chartered Accountant by profession, Gamage was nominated to enter the 10th Parliament of Sri Lanka through the National List.  

Wasantha Samarasingha, Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Co-operative Development

Samarasingha is a trade unionist and has been engaged in various trade unions throughout his political career. He is the Chairman of the Inter-Company Employees' Unio and the National Organizer at the National Trade Union Center. He studied at Thambuththegama Central College, the same school the president also went to.

Prof. Chrishantha Abeysena, Minister of Science and Technology

He is a professor of community medicine at the Kelaniya medical faculty. 

Prof. Anil Jayantha, Fernando Minister of Labour

He is a Professor at the Department of Accounting a the Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce at the Sri Jayawardena Pura University. 

Eng. Kumara Jayakody, Minister of Energy

Dr. Dhammika Patabandi, Minister of Environment​