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 President Media Division said that there is no change in the posts of Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Minister of Foreign Affairs. Therefore, the total number of Ministers in the Cabinet stands at 30 as of now. 

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