Ranasinghe Premadasa

Common card · No. 246422

Sri Lankabhimanya Ranasinghe Premadasa (Sinhala: රණසිංහ ප්‍රේමදාස Raṇasiṃha Premadāsa; Tamil: ரணசிங்க பிரேமதாசா Raṇaciṅka Pirēmatācā; 23 June 1924 – 1 May 1993) was a Sri Lankan politician who served as the third president of Sri Lanka from 1989 until his assassination in 1993. A longtime member of the United National Party, he previously served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 1978 to 1989, with his tenure making him the longest-serving uninterrupted Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. Amongst Sri Lankans, Premadasa has left behind a mixed legacy. While he was seen as a spokesperson of the poor, common man, his handling of the country's two civil conflicts, the JVP insurrection and the Sri Lankan civil war, have been heavily criticised. He was the first person to be conferred with the Sri Lankabhimanya, Sri Lanka's highest civilian award, in 1986 by president J. R. Jayewardene.

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