Sri Lanka's President Anura Kumara Dissanayake announces new cabinet, takes charge of agriculture

Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the newly elected President of Sri Lanka, took charge of the ministries of agriculture, lands, livestock, irrigation, fisheries, and aquatic resources on Thursday and allocated cabinet positions to various party leaders.
Dissanayake, leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and

National People's Power

(NPP), announced the cabinet appointments on the social media platform X.

In his post, the newly elected president outlined key priorities for his government, including eradicating

rural poverty

and advocating for a committed

public service

.
"I officially assumed duties as the Minister of Agriculture, Lands, Livestock, Irrigation, Fisheries, and Aquatic Resources today," Dissanayake wrote on X.
The president stressed the crucial role of government officials in achieving these goals. "The Ministry's role in eradicating rural poverty is immense, and the performance of our government officials will be key to our success. I am committed to advocating for our dedicated public servants to create an efficient and responsive public service," he said.

In his interim cabinet, Dissanayake appointed Nandika Sanath Kumanayaka as secretary to the president, Ravi Seneviratne as secretary to the ministry of public security, and Sampath Thuyacontha as secretary to the ministry of defence.

Harini Amarasuriya

was named prime minister, making her the third woman to hold the position, in addition to her roles as minister for justice, education, and labour.
Dissanayake also said that traditional political reprisals would not be tolerated, and his administration would aim to protect both the dignity of public servants and citizen satisfaction.

"Traditional political reprisals will not be tolerated in the future," Dissanayake said. "We will not publicly criticize officials in front of the media, as previous leaders have done, nor will we entertain such media spectacles. My goal is to build a public service that satisfies citizens and upholds the dignity of public servants," he added.
Dissanayake won the presidential election by defeating

Sajith Premadasa

and incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe. After his victory, he called for unity among Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, and all Sri Lankans to foster a new beginning.
Dissanayake served as a member of parliament from 2000 to 2024 and previously held the position of minister of agriculture, livestock, land, and irrigation from 2004 to 2005.