Sri Lanka: New Cabinet of 17 Ministers appointed

 President Gotabaya Rajapaksa today appointed 17 Cabinet rank ministers amidst widespread protests across the country demanding the resignation of both President and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The new Cabinet Ministers were sworn in this morning before President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the President’s House in Colombo. The new Cabinet consists of eight former Ministers and the rest of them are relatively new young faces as protesters demand a change in the governance system. 

The full list of Cabinet Ministers appointed today:

Dinesh Gunawardena – Minister of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government

Douglas Devananda – Minister of Fisheries

Dr. Ramesh Pathirana – Minister of Education and Plantation Industries

Prasanna Ranatunga – Minister of Public Security and Tourism

Dilum Amunugama – Minister of Transport and Industries

Kanaka Herath – Minister of Highways

Vidura Vickramanayake – Minister of Labor

Janaka Wakkumbura - Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation

Shehan Semasinghe – Minister of Trade and Samurdhi Development

Mohan Priyadarshana de Silva – Minister of Water Supplies

Wimalaweera Dissanayake – Minister of Wildlife and Forest Conservation

Kanchana Wijesekara – Minister of Power and Energy

Thenuka Vidanagamage – Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs

Dr. Nalaka Godahewa – Minister of Mass Media

Prof. Channa Jayasumana – Minister of Health

Naseer Ahamed – Minister of Environment

Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon – Minister of Ports and Shipping