Maithripala Sirisena
Politician
Politician who began serving as the seventh President of Sri Lanka in 2015. He was elected after having held a number of public offices, including Minister of Defence, Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Health.
He first became interested in politics while attending Royal Central College, Polonnaruwa. He joined the Communist Party and took part in a number of anti-government demonstrations.
His victory in the presidential election was widely seen as a big surprise, as he does not come from the same upper class background as all Sri Lankan presidents before him.
He has three siblings, which include successful businessman Kumarasinghe Sirisena. He married Jayanthi Pushpa Kumari and had children named Chathurika, Daham and Dharani.
He succeeded Mahinda Rajapaksa as the President of Sri Lanka.