Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Sri Lanka today (24 September) during a ceremony held at the Presidential Secretariat. The oath was taken in the presence of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
In addition to the appointment of the new Prime Minister, a new Cabinet of Ministers was sworn in. President Dissanayake will hold the portfolios of Defence; Finance, Economic Development, Policy Formulation, Planning and Tourism; Energy; and Agriculture, Land, Livestock, Irrigation, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.
Prime Minister Amarasuriya will be responsible for Justice; Public Administration, Provincial Councils, Local Government and Labour; Education, Science and Technology; Women, Child and Youth Affairs and Sports; Trade, Commercial, Food Security, Co-operative Development, Industries and Entrepreneur Development; and Health.
Minister Vijitha Herath has been assigned the portfolios of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, National Integration, Social Security and Mass Media; Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation; Public Security; Foreign Affairs; Environment, Wildlife, Forest Resources, Water Supply, Plantation and Community Infrastructure; and Rural and Urban Development, Housing and Construction.
Notable attendees at the swearing-in ceremony included MP Lakshman Nipunaarachchi, former MPs Sunil Handunnetti, Bimal Ratnayake, Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, Wasantha Samarasinghe, Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake and Secretary to the Ministry of Defence H.S. Sampath Thuyacontha.