Gotabaya Rajapaksa

Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Born	Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa 20 6, 1949
Birthplace	Palatuwa, Dominion of Ceylon
Nationality	Sri Lankan
Occupation	Politician, retired military officer
Known for	8th President of Sri Lanka; Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development (2005–2015); role in ending the Sri Lankan Civil War
Education	University of Colombo
Children	1
Awards	Rana Wickrama Padakkama

Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa (born 20 June 1949) is a Sri Lankan former politician and retired military officer who served as the eighth President of Sri Lanka from 18 November 2019 until his resignation on 14 July 2022. A member of the politically prominent Rajapaksa family from Sri Lanka's Southern Province, he rose to national significance first through a two-decade military career that included active combat in the Sri Lankan Civil War and the suppression of the 1987–1989 JVP insurrection, and later through his tenure as Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development from 2005 to 2015 under the presidency of his elder brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa. In that role, he oversaw the military campaign that brought about the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May 2009, ending the decades-long civil war. After a period away from public life — during which questions arose about his dual Sri Lankan and United States citizenship — Rajapaksa entered electoral politics for the first time in 2019 as the presidential candidate of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), running on a platform centred on national security and Sinhalese nationalism. He won the election and became the first Sri Lankan president with a military background and no prior experience in elected office. His presidency, however, was marked by the mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic response and an acute economic crisis that led Sri Lanka to default on its sovereign debt in 2022. The resulting public unrest forced Rajapaksa to flee the country on 13 July 2022, and he resigned via email from Singapore the following day, becoming the first Sri Lankan president to resign midway through a term.

Early Life

Gotabaya Rajapaksa was born on 20 June 1949 in Palatuwa, a village in the Matara District of the Southern Province of what was then the Dominion of Ceylon. He was born into a family with deep roots in southern Sri Lankan politics. His father, Don Alwin Rajapaksa, was a prominent political figure in the region, and his mother was Dandina Samarasinghe née Dissanayake. The Rajapaksa family would go on to produce several national-level politicians, most notably his elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa, who served as President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015, and Chamal Rajapaksa, who served as Speaker of the Parliament.

Gotabaya — whose given first name was Nandasena — grew up in the predominantly Sinhalese Buddhist southern coastal region of the island. The family's political connections and social standing in the Matara and Hambantota districts provided a foundation that would shape the trajectories of the Rajapaksa siblings. While Mahinda pursued a career in law and electoral politics from an early age, Gotabaya chose a path through the military, a decision that would define his public identity for decades.

He received his early education at Ananda College, Colombo, one of Sri Lanka's leading Buddhist educational institutions, before pursuing a military career. The choice to attend Ananda College, a school with a tradition of producing public servants and national leaders, reflected the family's orientation toward public life and national affairs.

Education

Rajapaksa attended Ananda College, Colombo for his secondary education. He subsequently entered the Sri Lanka Military Academy (formerly the Army Training Centre) at Diyatalawa, where he received his basic military training before being commissioned as a signals officer in the Sri Lanka Army.

After retiring from military service in 1991, Rajapaksa pursued higher education. He obtained a degree from the University of Colombo, supplementing his military training with academic credentials. The combination of military and academic education would later inform his approach to governance, particularly in the areas of defence policy and urban development during his tenure as Defence Secretary.

Career

Military Career (1971–1991)

Gotabaya Rajapaksa joined the Ceylon Army in April 1971, at a time when the country was grappling with the first JVP insurrection — a Marxist uprising led by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna. After completing his basic training at the Army Training Centre in Diyatalawa, he was commissioned as a signals officer. He was later transferred to several infantry regiments over the course of his military career.

Rajapaksa saw extensive active service during the early stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War, which erupted in earnest in 1983. He served with the elite Gajaba Regiment, one of the Sri Lanka Army's premier infantry formations. During his time with the regiment, he participated in several significant military operations, including the Vadamarachi Operation, Operation Strike Hard, and Operation Thrividha Balaya — all of which were major offensives against the LTTE in the northern and eastern regions of the island.

In addition to the civil war, Rajapaksa was involved in counterinsurgency operations during the 1987–1989 JVP insurrection, a violent period of political upheaval in Sri Lanka's south in which the JVP waged an armed campaign against the government. The insurrection was suppressed with considerable force by the security services.

Rajapaksa rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel during his military career and held commands including the 1st Gajaba Regiment and a posting at the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence Academy. He received the Rana Wickrama Padakkama, a military decoration for gallantry in the field, in recognition of his combat service. He retired from the army in 1991 after approximately two decades of service.

Period in the United States

Following his retirement from the military, Rajapaksa relocated to the United States, where he resided for a number of years. During this period, he obtained United States citizenship, a fact that would later become a significant political and legal issue when he sought the presidency of Sri Lanka. Under Sri Lankan law, dual citizens were barred from holding the office of president, and Rajapaksa's American citizenship was a matter of public and legal scrutiny during the 2019 presidential campaign. He held U.S. citizenship from 2003 until he renounced it ahead of the 2019 election, having re-obtained Sri Lankan citizenship in 2005.

Secretary to the Ministry of Defence (2005–2015)

When Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected President of Sri Lanka in November 2005, Gotabaya Rajapaksa was appointed Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development, a position he held from 19 November 2005 until 9 January 2015. Although a bureaucratic rather than elected position, the Defence Secretary role under the Rajapaksa administration wielded considerable power, particularly in the context of the ongoing civil war.

In this capacity, Rajapaksa played a central role in directing the final military campaign against the LTTE. The government adopted an aggressive military strategy beginning in 2006, escalating operations against LTTE-held territories in the north and east of the island. The campaign culminated in May 2009 with the defeat of the LTTE and the death of its leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran. The end of the civil war, which had lasted over 25 years and claimed tens of thousands of lives, was presented by the Rajapaksa administration as a historic achievement. However, the final phase of the war was accompanied by allegations of serious human rights violations, including civilian casualties on a large scale, which drew international condemnation and calls for independent investigations.

During his tenure as Defence Secretary, Rajapaksa survived an assassination attempt on 1 December 2006, when a suicide bomber affiliated with the LTTE attacked his motorcade in Colombo. The attack killed one person and injured several others, but Rajapaksa escaped with minor injuries.

Rajapaksa's period as Defence Secretary was also marked by controversy regarding press freedom and the treatment of journalists. International press freedom organisations documented cases of intimidation and violence against media professionals who reported critically on the government's conduct during the war. Beyond defence matters, he was also involved in urban development initiatives in Colombo, a portfolio that fell under the same ministry.

His tenure ended when Mahinda Rajapaksa lost the January 2015 presidential election to Maithripala Sirisena. The new government signalled a shift away from the policies of the Rajapaksa era, and Gotabaya stepped down from his position.

Return to Politics and 2019 Presidential Campaign

After several years out of the public spotlight, Rajapaksa re-entered Sri Lankan politics as the presidential candidate of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), a party closely associated with the Rajapaksa family. His candidacy was announced in 2019, and his campaign centred on themes of national security, Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism, and a promise to bring the same decisive leadership he had demonstrated during the war to the governance of the country.

A key legal challenge arose over Rajapaksa's dual citizenship status. Opponents argued that because he had held United States citizenship, he was ineligible to run for president under Sri Lanka's constitution. The matter was brought before the courts, but the legal challenge was dismissed, clearing the way for his candidacy. Rajapaksa notably did not attend a multi-party debate during the campaign, a decision that attracted public comment.

The 2019 presidential election, held on 16 November 2019, was significantly influenced by the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, a series of coordinated terrorist attacks on churches and luxury hotels on Easter Sunday (21 April 2019) that killed over 250 people. The attacks exposed failures in the intelligence and security apparatus under the government of President Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, and Rajapaksa's security credentials became a central selling point of his candidacy. He won the election with approximately 52.25% of the vote, drawing overwhelming support from Sinhalese-majority areas while receiving minimal backing from Tamil and Muslim communities in the north and east.

Rajapaksa was sworn in as the eighth President of Sri Lanka on 18 November 2019. He became the first president in the country's history to come from a military background with no prior experience in elected office.

Presidency (2019–2022)

Upon assuming office, Rajapaksa appointed his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister, consolidating the family's grip on the highest offices of the state. He also assumed the portfolio of Minister of Defence on 28 November 2019 and later took on the position of Minister of Technology from 26 November 2020. The concentration of executive power, combined with the appointment of family members and loyalists to key positions, drew criticism from opposition politicians and civil society organisations.

COVID-19 Pandemic

Rajapaksa's presidency coincided with the global COVID-19 pandemic, which reached Sri Lanka in early 2020. The government's pandemic response was criticised for a number of policy decisions, including the controversial mandate to cremate all COVID-19 victims regardless of their religious beliefs — a policy that disproportionately affected the country's Muslim minority, for whom burial is a religious requirement. The administration's handling of the public health crisis was characterised by critics as inconsistent and at times authoritarian.

Economic Crisis

The most consequential aspect of Rajapaksa's presidency was the severe economic crisis that engulfed Sri Lanka beginning in 2021 and reaching a critical point in 2022. A combination of factors contributed to the crisis: large tax cuts implemented early in Rajapaksa's tenure that drastically reduced government revenue; a sudden ban on chemical fertiliser imports in April 2021 that devastated agricultural output; the depletion of foreign currency reserves; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism sector; and unsustainable levels of foreign debt.

By early 2022, Sri Lanka was experiencing acute shortages of essential goods, including fuel, cooking gas, medicines, and food. The country's foreign exchange reserves were effectively exhausted, making it impossible to finance imports. Inflation soared, and in April 2022, the government announced that it could no longer service its foreign debt, marking Sri Lanka's first sovereign default since independence in 1948.

Protests and Resignation

The economic collapse triggered a wave of mass protests across the country, collectively known as the Aragalaya (Sinhalese for "struggle"). Beginning in March 2022, citizens from diverse backgrounds — including professionals, students, religious figures, and ordinary citizens — took to the streets demanding the resignation of the Rajapaksa government. Protest sites were established in Colombo and other cities, with the occupation of the area around the Presidential Secretariat at Galle Face Green becoming the symbolic centre of the movement.

The government's response included declarations of states of emergency, the imposition of curfews, military-led arrests, and the suppression of protests and media coverage. There were documented assaults on journalists and demonstrators. Despite mounting pressure, Rajapaksa initially refused to resign.

Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned as Prime Minister on 9 May 2022, and Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed in his place. However, protests continued to escalate, and on 9 July 2022, demonstrators stormed the presidential palace and the official residence in Colombo.

On 13 July 2022, Rajapaksa fled Sri Lanka aboard a military aircraft, initially travelling to the Maldives and subsequently to Singapore. He officially submitted his resignation via email from Singapore on 14 July 2022, becoming the first Sri Lankan president to resign while in office midway through a presidential term. Ranil Wickremesinghe was subsequently elected by Parliament to serve as president for the remainder of the term.

Rajapaksa remained abroad for 50 days before returning to Sri Lanka on 2 September 2022. His return was a low-key affair, and he has since largely stayed out of public political life.

Personal Life

Gotabaya Rajapaksa is a member of the Rajapaksa political dynasty, one of the most prominent and powerful political families in Sri Lanka. His elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa served as President (2005–2015) and later as Prime Minister (2019–2022). Another brother, Chamal Rajapaksa, served in various cabinet and parliamentary roles, including as Speaker of the Parliament. The family's political base is in the southern districts of Hambantota and Matara.

Rajapaksa has one child. He held United States citizenship from 2003 to 2019, having lived in the United States after his retirement from the military. He renounced his U.S. citizenship prior to contesting the 2019 presidential election to comply with Sri Lankan constitutional requirements barring dual citizens from holding the presidency.

His tenure as Defence Secretary and subsequently as president made him a polarising figure in Sri Lankan society. Among much of the Sinhalese majority population, he was regarded as the man who ended the civil war. Among many Tamils and Muslims, his name was associated with wartime suffering and post-war marginalisation.

Recognition

During his military career, Rajapaksa was awarded the Rana Wickrama Padakkama, one of Sri Lanka's military decorations for gallantry, in recognition of his service during the Sri Lankan Civil War. His military rank of Lieutenant Colonel reflected a career that spanned two decades and encompassed significant combat operations.

As Defence Secretary, Rajapaksa was credited by supporters with modernising Sri Lanka's defence infrastructure and overseeing the urban beautification of Colombo. His role in ending the civil war earned him significant recognition within Sri Lanka, particularly among the Sinhalese Buddhist majority. Conversely, international human rights organisations and Tamil advocacy groups were critical of the methods employed during the final phase of the war.

Following the 2006 assassination attempt, Rajapaksa's survival of the LTTE suicide bombing reinforced his public image as a figure who had personally risked his life in the fight against the Tamil Tigers.

His 2019 presidential election victory was notable for the scale of his margin in Sinhalese-majority districts and represented a significant mandate for the security-focused governance model he advocated. However, the circumstances of his departure from office in 2022 — fleeing the country amid mass protests and resigning via email from abroad — significantly diminished his political standing and legacy.

Legacy

Gotabaya Rajapaksa's legacy in Sri Lanka is deeply contested. His role in ending the civil war remains the defining achievement cited by his supporters, who credit him with providing the strategic direction that led to the military defeat of the LTTE after decades of failed peace processes and ceasefires. The end of the war in 2009 brought a sense of relief and security to many Sri Lankans, particularly those in the south who had experienced LTTE suicide bombings and attacks.

However, the final phase of the war was accompanied by allegations of mass civilian casualties, extrajudicial killings, and forced disappearances. Multiple international bodies called for independent investigations into potential war crimes, and Rajapaksa's role as the civilian official most directly responsible for the conduct of the military campaign placed him at the centre of these allegations. Reports from organisations such as the University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) documented the humanitarian impact of the war's conclusion.

His presidency (2019–2022) is associated with a period of severe economic mismanagement that resulted in Sri Lanka's first sovereign default and an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis. The concentration of power within the Rajapaksa family, the erosion of institutional checks and balances, and the authoritarian response to public dissent during the Aragalaya protests became defining features of his time in office.

The manner of his departure — fleeing the country aboard a military aircraft while citizens occupied the presidential palace — became one of the most dramatic episodes in Sri Lankan political history. His resignation via email from Singapore on 14 July 2022 marked the first time a Sri Lankan president had resigned before the completion of a term.

Rajapaksa's political trajectory — from decorated military officer to powerful defence bureaucrat to elected president to exiled former leader — encapsulates the complex interplay of ethnic politics, security imperatives, democratic governance, and economic policy that has defined post-independence Sri Lanka. His career raised fundamental questions about the role of the military in civilian governance, the accountability of leaders during wartime, and the sustainability of populist nationalist politics in a diverse multi-ethnic society.