Wasantha Senanayake
Wasantha Senanayake is a Sri Lankan politician who is a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka. He belongs to the United National Party. He is the great grandson of D. S. Senanayake and cousin of Ruwan Wijewardene.
Senanayake was appointed State Minister of Foreign Affairs in the United National Party led national government on May 31, 2017. He was the State Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Management from 2015 to 2017. He was the Deputy Minister of Tourism and Sports in the United National Party 100 days government. Senanayake served as acting Foreign Minister when the Minister Ravi Karunanayake resigned on 10 August 2017.
During the 2018 Sri Lanka constitutional crisis, Senanayake, a Member of Parliament elected on the United National Party's Polonnaruwa District ticket in 2015, switched his alliance on multiple occasions between the two political parties that were battling for power. Initially he pledged his support for Mahinda Rajapaksa who appointed him as Minister of Tourism and Wildlife after controversially dismissing prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Senanayake then returned his alliance to the United National Party, announcing his resignation from his ministerial portfolio, but later supported Rajapaksa again. He ultimately made another switch back to the United National Party on the 26th of November 2018.
