Basil gets SLFP National Organiser job

The SLFP Central Committee last night appointed Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa as the party’s National Organiser.

The unanimous decision was taken at the Central Committee meeting held under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees. The post of National Organiser fell vacant following the death of former Minister Anuruddha Ratwatte. 

A senior party member and a leading figure in the party, Minister Basil Rajapaksa entered politics in the 1970s and was for some time the President of the SLFP Youth Federation and an Assistant Secretary of the party.

He became an MP for the first time after winning a seat in the 13th Parliament. In the April 2010 general election, his was a record victory of 425,861 votes having contested from the Gampaha District.  It was the highest number of votes received by a candidate in that election in the country.

He is a past pupil of Ananda College, Colombo, and a son of former Agricultural and Lands Minister D.A. Rajapaksa. A father of three children, Minister Basil Rajapaksa is married to Pushpa Rajapaksa, who is a lawyer by profession. He is also a Senior Advisor to the President and an expert on diplomatic relations.

Minister Basil Rajapkasa directed the SLFP’s presidential election campaigns of 2005 and 2010. As the SLFP Leader of Gampaha District, he has been the pioneer of progress in the area where he opened new avenues of development through a five-year plan by identifying and utilising the district’s resources. He established a fully-equipped SLFP Secretarial Office outside Colombo for the first time, thus providing an immense service to SLFP party members and the general public.

Minister Rajapaksa has given leadership to a number of massive development programs, including ‘Uthuru Wasanthaya’ for the north, ‘Nagenahira Navodaya’ for the east and ‘Divi Neguma,’ under President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s guidance.