Karu Jayasuriya

Early life and education

Karu Jayasuriya was born on 29 September 1940 in Mirigama, Gampaha, to the family of Podi Appuhamy Jayasuriya and Wimalaseeli Jayasiriya. Jayasuriya was educated at Kandangamuwa Vidyalaya, Mirigama and at Ananda College, Colombo. He went on to gain professional membership (AICS) of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers in 1965 and later gained fellowship (FICS). He trained in commodity trading at the Baltic Exchange and went on to receive Advanced Management Training at INSEAD. He later became a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.

Military service

Jayasuriya joined the Ceylon Army Volunteer Force in 1965 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Ceylon National Guard. He was mobilized during the 1971 JVP insurrection and first come under fire while trying to reestablish rail links between Colombo and Anuradhapura. He left the army in 1972.

Private sector and diplomatic service

Following his departure from the army, he joined the private sector and became a senior corporate executive, serving as chairman, managing director and executive director of several companies. He was the Chairman of The National Chamber of Commerce, SAARC Chamber of Commerce, Colombo Rubber Traders' Association, Sugar Importers Association and The Sri Lanka Business Development Centre, as well as the Director of the Export Development Board. President J. R. Jayewardene appointed him to the Presidential Commission in the early 1980s. He became an unofficial adviser of President Premadasa on the private sector and in 1991 he left the private sector and was appointed by President Premadasa as the Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the ‘EXPO 92’ Trade exhibition. He was thereafter appointed as Sri Lankan Ambassador to Germany with accreditation to Austria and Switzerland in 1992 serving till 1994, when he resigned and returned to Sri Lanka following the defeat of the UNP in the elections that year.

Political career

Mayor of Colombo

Jayasuriya became active in politics in late 1995 and he became party chairman in 1995 at the request of UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. In 1996, Jayasuriya was nominated by the UNP of the local government elections as candidate for the post Mayor of Colombo, by passing Premadasa stalwart and former Mayor Sirisena Cooray. Jayasuriya was supported by both Wickremesinghe and Cooray as he was considered close to the former President Premadasa. Karu Jayasuriya won the election and became the Mayor of Colombo gaining much popularity and notability in the process, having been initially from a non-political background. He served as Mayor till 1999 efficiently administrating the country's most populous city.

Provincial council

Following his success as Mayor of Colombo, Jayasuriya contested the 1999 provincial council elections as the UNP nominee and Chief Ministerial candidate of the Western Province, which he lost narrowly. He became the opposition leader of the western province council serving till 2001. At that election, he created a new precedent by refusing to publish posters, saying it promoted violence and polluted the city he worked hard to keep clean.

Parliament

At the General Elections of 2000, he was elected to Parliament from the Gampaha District with a large number of preferential votes even though his party was defeated. After his remarkable showing, he was elected Deputy Leader of the UNP.

Cabinet minister

Following the victory of the UNP at the General Elections in 2001, Karu Jayasuriya was appointed Minister of Power and Energy. Having inherited a challenging ministry he ensured a continued power supply and commenced reforms of the heavily indebted Electricity Board. With President Chandrika Kumaratunga's abrupt dissolution of parliament in April 2004, and the UNP's defeat at the ensuing election, he once again returned to the front benches of the Opposition. At the Presidential Elections of 2005, in which Wickremesinghe was the party's candidate, Jayasuriya was named as the nominee for the premiership in the event of the party's success. As an unofficial running mate, he traveled widely, actively campaigning for his leader.

Opposition

Wickremesinghe narrowly lost the election and following his defeat, there were requests by a section of the party for the leadership to be handed over to Jayasuriya. In the meantime, Wickremesinghe and Rajapakse signed a Memorandum of Understanding pledging to co-operate with the peace process. Jayasuriya and his supporters insisted on taking a step further and joining the government formally by accepting ministerial office, which was strongly opposed by Wickremesinghe. The ensuing power struggle resulted in a bitter and acrimonious war of attrition between the two.

Cross over and return

After several abortive attempts to oust Wickremesinghe from the party leadership, Jayasuriya led a group of 18 parliamentarians, including several party front-liners, in crossing over to the government side. In the 2007 cabinet reshuffle after the crossover, he was appointed as Minister of Public Administration and Home Affairs. He resigned from his Public Administration and Home Affairs portfolio on 9 December 2008 and rejoined the UNP as its deputy leader.

Return to government

In January 2015, President Maithripala Sirisena appointed Jayasuriya as Minister of Public Administration, Democratic Rule and Buddha Sasana after his victory in the presidential election.

Speaker of the Parliament

At the first session of the 8th Parliament, he was elected as Speaker on 1 September 2015. His name was proposed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe and seconded by Nimal Siripala De Silva. Thilanga Sumathipala was elected as his deputy.

Presidential bid

In 2019, ahead of the 2019 Sri Lankan presidential election, Karu Jayasuriya was publicly discussed as a potential presidential candidate amid internal divisions within the United National Party (UNP) over its nominee.

Jayasuriya stated that he was willing to consider contesting the presidency if invited, emphasizing that he would not seek the nomination through internal rivalry and would only proceed with broad consensus from party leadership and civil society groups. He further noted that any potential candidacy would be conditional on abolishing the Executive presidency in Sri Lanka, describing the office as a transitional mechanism for constitutional reform.

Despite continued media speculation and appeals from religious leaders and civil society organisations, Jayasuriya did not formally announce a candidacy or submit nomination papers, and the UNP ultimately selected Sajith Premadasa as its candidate for the 2019 presidential election.

Electoral history

Honours

• Sri Lanka Government of Sri Lanka – Deshabandu - 1992
• Japan Japanese government – Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun - 2016
• India Abdul Kalam Institute of Technological Sciences - Pride of Asia - 2019
• Sri Lanka Rāmañña Nikāya - Vishva Keerthishri Lanka Jana Ranjana - 2019
• Sri Lanka Malwathu Maha Viharaya - Sasana Keerthi Sri Deshabhimani – 2019
• Sri Lanka Amarapura Nikāya - Sadhu Jana Prasadhini Lankaputhra – 2019--
• Sri Lanka Government of Sri Lanka - Sri Lankabhimanya – 2023

References

References

1. (3 September 2015). "Karu elected as new Speaker".
2. [http://www.dailymirror.lk/top-story/38240-i-did-not-betray-the-party-members-karu-.html I did not betray the party members: Karu], Daily Mirror. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
3. [https://www.bbc.com/sinhala/news/story/2008/12/081208_unp_karu Karu UNP deputy leader] BBC News. Retrieved 8 December 2008.
4. [http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/karu-jayasuriya-speaker-of-the-8th-parliament-of-sri-lanka-85725.html Karu Jayasuriya – Speaker of the 8th Parliament of Sri Lanka]
5. [http://www.island.lk/2006/11/22/midweek1.html Karu’s gratitude]
6. [http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?artid=27693&catid=13 Dissident Karu Jayasuriya appointed UNP deputy leader]. Tamil Net. Retrieved 8 December 2008.
7. [http://tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=15788&fromNewsdog=1 UNP to hold 140 presidential election rallies]. Tamil Net. Retrieved 4 September 2005.
8. link. (16 December 2008 Lanka e News. Retrieved 10 December 2008)
9. [https://www.newsfirst.lk/2015/09/01/karu-jayasuriya-elected-speaker-of-sri-lankas-eighth-parliament/ Karu Jayasuriya elected Speaker of Sri Lanka’s eighth Parliament]. News First. Retrieved 1 September 2005.
10. (27 July 2019). "UNP to decide between Ranil, Sajith or Karu". Colombo Gazette.
11. (17 September 2019). "Karu willing to consider contesting if conditions are met". Colombo Gazette.
12. (September 2019). "Will abolish executive presidency if contesting – Speaker Karu". Onlanka.
13. (31 January 2017). "Japanese Govt confers Karu Jayasuriya with 'The Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun' – Sri Lanka News-News 1st-Sirasa News-Politics-Weather-Sports-Breaking News".
14. [http://www.sundaytimes.lk/article/1074518/speaker-karu-jayasuriya-awarded-pride-of-asia-award-by-akits Speaker Karu Jayasuriya awarded 'Pride of Asia' by AKITS]
15. [http://www.sundaytimes.lk/article/1077425/speaker-karu-jayasuriya-to-receive-special-honorary-award-tomorrow Speaker Karu Jayasuriya to receive special honorary award]
16. (19 March 2019). "Wise Karu pride of all Buddhists".
17. (18 April 2019). "Maha Sangha duty-bound to felicitate virtuous leaders".
18. "Amarapura Maha Nikaya confers honorary title on Speaker".
19. "Former Speaker conferred Sri Lankaabhimanya on February 3". Daily News.