The second commemoration ceremony of late Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne was held today (November 20) under the patronage of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Ambuluwawa Biodiversity Complex, Gampola.

The Head of State, who arrived for the commemoration ceremony, paid homage to the Ambuluwawa Bo tree and later visited the Biodiversity Complex. He also unveiled the D.M. Jayaratne Statue and paid floral tributes to it.

Mr. D.M. Jayaratne started his political career from the Village Council and he was the 13th member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. He first represented the Parliament in 1970 and became a Cabinet Minister in 1994. He held several ministerial portfolios until 2010 and he was the 14th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2010 to 2015. Mr. Jayaratne passed away on November 19, 2019.

State Minister Anuradha Jayaratne presented a memento to the President to mark the commemoration.

The President meanwhile planted a white sandalwood sapling at the Ambuluwawa Biodiversity Complex.

The book ‘Manushyathwaye Meheyuma’ (Operation Humanity) authored by Chalani Wasalabandara, an undergraduate student of the University of Peradeniya, was also presented to the President.

Maha Sangha of the Tri-Niyakas, Ministers Chamal Rajapaksa, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Governor Lalith U. Gamage, MPs Gunathilaka Rajapaksha, Udayana Kirindigoda and members of the Ambuluwawa Board of Trustees were also present.