Mahinda Rajapaksa

Percy Mahendra "Mahinda" Rajapaksa, MP (Sinhalese: මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ (පර්සි මහේන්ද්‍ර රාජපක්ෂ), pronounced [maˈhində ˈraːɟəˌpakʂə], Tamil: மகிந்த ராசபக்ச; born 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the sixth President of Sri Lanka from 19 November 2005 to 9 January 2015. A lawyer by profession, Rajapaksa was first elected to the Parliament of Sri Lanka in 1970, and he served as Prime Minister from 6 April 2004 until his victory in the 2005 presidential election. He was sworn in for his first six-year term as President on 19 November 2005. He was re-elected for a second term on 27 January 2010. He was defeated in his bid for a third term in the 2015 presidential election by Maithripala Sirisena and left office on 9 January 2015.

Several months after leaving office, Rajapaksa unsuccessfully sought to become Prime Minister in the 2015 parliamentary election, where the United People's Freedom Alliance was defeated. He however, was elected as Member of Parliament for Kurunegala District.