New cabinet ministers take oath

President Maithripala Sirisena today appointed 27 Cabinet Ministers, ten State ministers and eight Deputy Ministers at a ceremony held at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo, where the parliamentarians took oath.

President Maithripala Sirisena announced he will call General Elections in three months and that the task of the Cabinet will be to implement his campaign pledges over the next 100 days before the parliamentary polls are held.

He warned the ministers of stern action if they are involved in corruption.

Some ministers and deputy ministers who served under former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had defected and pledged to support President Sirisena, yesterday. 

Former President Rajapaka’s cabinet had more than 110 Ministers, Deputy Ministers and State Ministers.

Cabinet Ministers
 
1.Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe – Minister of Economic Development & Policy Implementation
2.Ravi Karunanayake – Minister of Finance
3.Joseph Michael Perera – Minister of Home Affairs
4.John Amaratunga – Minister of Public Order, Disaster Management  & Christian Affairs
5.Duminda Dissanayake – Minister of Irrigation
6.Dr. Rajitha Senaratna – Minister of Health and Indigenous Medicine
7.Kabir Hashim – Minister of Highways and Investment Promotion
8.Sajith Premadasa – Minister of Housing and Samurdhi
9.Naveen Dissanayake – Minister of Tourism
10.Wijedasa Rajapaksa – Minister of Justice
11.Arjuna Ranatunga – Minister of Ports and Shipping
12.Patali Champika Ranawaka – Minister of Power and Energy
13.Rishad Bathiudeen – Minister of Industry and Commerce
14.Gayantha Karunathilake – Minister of Mass Media
15.Palani Diganbaram – Minister of Plantation  Infrastructure Development
16.Akila Viraj Kariyawasam – Minister of Education
17.D.M. Swaminadan – Minister of Resettlement, Reconstruction and Hindu Affairs
18.Rauff Hakeem – Minister of Urban Development, Water Supply and Drainage
19.Ms.Thalatha Athukorala – Minister of Foreign Employment
20.Ranjith Madduma Bandara – Minister of Internal Transport
21.P. Harrison – Minister of Social Services and Social Welfare
22.M.K.D.S. Gunawardena – Minister of Land
23.Ms.Chandrani Bandara – Minister of Women’s Affairs
24.Karu Jayasuriya - Minister of Buddha Sasana
25.Lakshman Kiriella – Minister of Plantation
26.Mangala Samaraweera – Minister of Foreign Affairs
27.Gamini Jayawickrama Perera – Minister of Food Security
 
Ministers of State
 
1.Nandimithra Ekanayake - Ministry of Culture and the Arts
2.V. Radhakrishnan - Ministry of Education
3.Faizer Mustapha - Ministry of Aviation
4.Palitha Range Bandara - Ministry of Power and Energy
5.Dilip Wedaarachchi - Ministry of Fisheries
6.Ms.Bernadeen Rose Senanayake - Ministry of Children’s Affairs
7.Rajiva Wijesinghe - Ministry of Higher Education
8.Ruwan Wijewardene - Ministry of Defence 
9.K. Velayudhan - Ministry of  Plantation Industries
10.Niroshan Perera - Ministry of  Youth Affairs
 
Deputy Ministers
 
1.Champika Premadasa - Ministry of Industry and Commerce
2.Harsha de Silva - Ministry of Policy Development & Economic Affairs
3.Eran Wickramaratne- Ministry of Highways and Investment Promotion
4.Sujeewa Senasinghe - Ministry of Justice
5.Wasantha Senanayake - Ministry of Tourism
6.Ms.Vijayakala Maheswaran - Ministry of Women’s Affairs
7.Ajith P. Perera - Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
8.Anoma Gamage - Ministry of Irrigation