Former Sri Lankan Prime Minister passes away at 83

Colombo, Dec 27 (IANS) Former Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake passed away on Tuesday. He was 83.

Wickremanayake was the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2000 to 2001 and 2005 to 2010, Xinhua news agency reported.

He entered politics in 1960, winning a seat in the legislature as a member of the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (People's United Front).

In 1970, Wickremanayake was appointed the deputy minister of justice.

In the 1994 general elections, he won a seat in Parliament and was appointed as the Minister of Home Affairs, Public Administration and Plantation Industries.