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The Honourable
Helena Harin Fernando
MP
හරීන් ප්‍රනාන්දු
ஹரின் பெர்னாண்டோ
Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs
Assumed office
27 November 2023
PresidentRanil Wickremesinghe
Prime MinisterDinesh Gunawardena
Preceded byRoshan Ranasinghe
In office
20 December 2018 – 17 November 2019
PresidentMaithripala Sirisena
Prime MinisterRanil Wickremesinghe
Preceded byFaiszer Musthapha
Succeeded byDullas Alahapperuma
Minister of Tourism and Lands
Assumed office
20 May 2022
PresidentGotabaya Rajapaksa
Ranil Wickremesinghe
Prime MinisterRanil Wickremesinghe
Dinesh Gunawardena
Preceded byPrasanna Ranatunga
Minister of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare
In office
25 February 2018 – 26 October 2018
PresidentMaithripala Sirisena
Prime MinisterRanil Wickremesinghe
Preceded byThalatha Atukorale
In office
20 December 2018 – 17 November 2019
PresidentMaithripala Sirisena
Prime MinisterRanil Wickremesinghe
Minister of Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure
In office
4 September 2015 – 26 October 2018
PresidentMaithripala Sirisena
Prime MinisterRanil Wickremesinghe
In office
20 December 2018 – 17 November 2019
PresidentMaithripala Sirisena
Prime MinisterRanil Wickremesinghe
7th Chief Minister of Uva Province
In office
14 January 2015 – 1 September 2015
GovernorM. P. Jayasinghe
Preceded byShashindra Rajapaksa
Succeeded byChamara Sampath Dassanayake
Member of Parliament
for National List
Assumed office
20 August 2020
Member of Parliament
for Badulla District
In office
1 September 2015 – 3 March 2020
Majority200,806 Preferential Votes
In office
22 April 2010 – 5 August 2014
Majority49,073 Preferential Votes
Personal details
Born (1978-10-28) 28 October 1978 (age 45)
Wattala, Sri Lanka
Political partyUnited National Party (2005–2020, 2023–present)
Other political
affiliations		Samagi Jana Balawegaya (2020–2023)
SpouseRavindani Yashendra Dias
ParentNihal Benito Fernando,
Alma materSt. Joseph's College, Colombo
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionBusinessman

Harin Fernando, MP (born 28 October 1978) is a Sri Lankan politician, Cabinet Minister and Member of Parliament. He is the current Minister of Tourism and Lands as well as the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs. He previously served as the Minister of Sports before, as well as the Telecommunication, Digital Infrastructure Facilities, Foreign Employment, and Tourism ministers in previous Sri Lankan governments.[1] He was the 7th Chief Minister of Uva Province.

Early life and education

Born in Wattala to a Roman Catholic family, Fernando was educated at St. Joseph's College, Colombo.[1]

Political career

Fernando was appointed as the United National Party (UNP) electoral organizer for Badulla District when he was only 27 and won the highest number of votes in the Uva Provincial Council Election in 2005. He was elected as a Member of Parliament for the Badulla District in 2010 and resigned on 5 August 2014 to contest as candidate for Chief Minister of Uva Province.[2] Even though Fernando won the highest number of preferential votes, the UNP lost in Uva Provincial Council elections. Fernando became the leader of the opposition in the Uva Provincial Council.

Fernando played a critical role in President Mahinda Rajapaksa's defeat in the 2015 presidential elections, after Rajapaksa called for an early election where the UPFA won narrowly at the Uva Provincial Council elections. Fernando had strongly criticised the Rajapaksa regime for its corruption, authoritarian rule and rise of lawlessness. Harin's criticisms significantly reduced Rajapaksa's popularity in Badulla and Monaragala. Fernando openly campaigned for the common candidate Maithripala Sirisena in the elections.

Soon after the elections, a number of UPFA provincial councillors backed Fernando, thus giving the UNP a majority in the Uva provincial council. He was sworn in as Chief Minister of Uva Province before the Governor and succeeded Shasheendra Rajapaksa.[3] In August 2015, Fernando was elected to parliament, gaining the highest votes in the Badulla District. Shortly afterwards he was appointed as Cabinet Minister of Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure.[4][5]

Fernando criticized Facebook for being too slow to combat social media users who had used Facebook and WhatsApp to plan and facilitate the anti-Muslim riots in Sri Lanka.[6]

On 20 May 2022, amidst the 2022 Sri Lankan protests and political crisis, Fernando was sworn in as the Minister of Tourism and Lands and officially became a member of the Rajapaksa-Wickremesinghe led cabinet, against the wishes of his own party, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).[7] He and fellow minister Manusha Nanayakkara had subsequently been suspended from the SJB. Both ministers would later resign from their ministerial portfolios on 9 July 2022, but would again be reappointed to their same positions by President Ranil Wickremesinghe on 22 July 2022.[8] A year later, on 18 July 2023, the Working Committee of the SJB expelled Harin Fernando and Manusha Nanayakkara from the party.[9] Shortly afterwards, on 2 August 2023, Fernando and Nanayakkara were readmitted into the United National Party by the party's working committee.[10]

Personal life

Fernando married Ravindani Yashendra Dias in 2003. They have had two children, Nikhel Joshue Chethiya Fernando and Naiara Chaithika Fernando.

References

  1. ^ a b "Full list of Cabinet ministers". dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  2. ^ "Harin's triumph in defeat lifts UNP sky-high". The Sunday Times. 28 September 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  3. ^ "Harin Fernando takes oath as Uva Chief Minister". adaderana.lk. 14 January 2015.
  4. ^ "Preferential votes- General Election 2015". adaderana.lk. 18 August 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  5. ^ "3 Chief Ministers and 4 opposition leaders elected to parliament". Hiru news. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  6. ^ Safi, Michael (14 March 2018). "Sri Lanka accuses Facebook over hate speech after deadly riots". The Guardian.
  7. ^ "Nine more cabinet ministers sworn in".
  8. ^ "New Cabinet of Ministers sworn in". www.adaderana.lk. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  9. ^ "SJB decides to expel Harin and Manusha". www.adaderana.lk. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  10. ^ bugsbunny (2 August 2023). "Harin and Manusha back in the UNP". Colombo Gazette. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
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