Piyankara Jayaratne

Unnanthi Piyankara Jayaratne, MP (born September 27, 1964) is a Sri Lankan politician and a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.

Not to be confused with D. M. Jayaratne.
Hon.

Piyankara Jayaratne

MP
Deputy Speaker of Parliament & Chairman of Committees
In office
8 July 2008 – 22 November 2010
Preceded byGitanjana Gunawardena
Succeeded byChandima Weerakkody
Deputy Minister of Youth Affairs
In office
2000–2001
Member of the Sri Lanka Parliament
for Puttalam District
Assumed office
2008
In office
2000–2001
Personal details
Born (1964-09-27) September 27, 1964
NationalitySri Lankan
Political partySri Lanka Freedom Party
Other political
affiliations		United People's Freedom Alliance
RelationsS. D. R Jayaratne
ResidenceEshadhara New Town, Madampe
Alma materRoyal College Colombo
[1]

Early life and education

Born to S. D. R. Jayaratne, a former member of parliament from Chilaw and Deputy Minister of Fisheries.[2]

Jayaratne was educated at Royal College Colombo and gained his higher education at the National Institute of Business Management.

Political career

He was the General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party Youth Organisation and a member of the Wayamba provincial council from 1993 to 1998.[3] He was then appointed SLFP organiser for the Puttalam Electorate in 1998- a position he holds to this day.[3]

Jayaratne was Minister of Fisheries, Agriculture and Irrigation of the North Western Provincial Council from 1998 to 2000. He was elected to parliament in the 2000 parliamentary elections, and was appointed Deputy Minister of Youth Affairs till 2001. He was not reelected in 2004 but, upon the death of D. M. Dassanayake, was appointed MP for the Puttalam electorate in February 2008.[4] Jayaratne was then appointed Deputy Speaker of Parliament on 8 July 2008, and held the position for three terms until 22 November 2010, through his re-election in 2010.[1] He was then given the portfolio of the Ministry of Civil Aviation under the second Mahinda Rajapakse government.[5] In 2015, he was deputised to the ministries of Law and Order and Southern Development and Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs as State Minister for Law & Order and Prison Reforms.[6] He was then appointed State Minister for Provincial Councils and Local Government, a position he resigned from at the end of December 2016 [7][8]

Controversy

Jayaratne has been the subject of several investigations for corruption. In October 2015, he was summoned to appear before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into serious acts of Fraud, Corruption and Abuse of Power in an investigation into alleged financial fraud at SriLankan Catering, the catering arm of the national carrier, SriLankan Airlines.[9] In 2017, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption filed charges with the Colombo Chief Magistrate Court against Jayaratne, citing abuse of power and -state funds through the unlawful appointment of his private secretary, B. Dayawansha, as an officer at the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka and providing him with a salary and benefits using state funds.[10][11] He and Dayawansha were later arrested, then released on bail on 21 August 2017.[12]

See also

References
  1. "Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees". Parliament.lk. Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  2. "Priyankara Jayaratne new Deputy Speaker". Island. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  3. "Hon. Piyankara Jayaratne, M.P." Parliament.lk. Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  4. "New TNA, UPFA parliamentarians take oaths". TamilNet. 5 February 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  5. "Sri Lankan President opens flight training academy". Colombopage.com. Colombo Page. 20 October 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  6. "State Minister of Law & Order and Prison Reforms Assumes Duties". Sri Lanka Police. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  7. Santiago, Melanie (31 December 2016). "State Minister Piyankara Jayaratne steps down from portfolio". Newsfirst.lk. News First. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  8. "State Minister Piyankara Jayaratne resigns". Dailymirror.lk. Daily Mirror Sri Lanka. 30 December 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  9. Fernando, Tharushan (28 October 2015). "Presidential Commission of Inquiry summons Min. Piyankara Jayaratne". Newsfirst.lk. News First. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  10. Padmasiri, Ranjith (11 June 2017). "Ex-aviation minister, private secretary charged under Bribery Act". Sundaytimes.lk. The Sunday Times Sri Lanka. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  11. Sooriyagoda, Lakmal (9 June 2017). "Bribery Commission files case against former Minister Priyankara Jayaratne". Dailynews.lk. Daily News Sri Lanka. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  12. Sooriyagoda, Lakmal (21 August 2017). "Former Minister Priyankara Jayaratne released on bail". Dailynews.lk. Daily News Sri Lanka. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
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