Nimal Siripala de Silva MP
නිමල් සිරිපාල ද සිල්වා நிமல் சிறிபால டி சில்வா
Silva at Indian Ocean Conference in Dhaka (2023)
Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation
Incumbent
Assumed office 20 May 2022
President	Gotabaya Rajapaksa Ranil Wickramasinghe
Prime Minister	Ranil Wickramasinghe Dinesh Gunawardena
Preceded by	Pramitha Tennakoon
Minister of Labour
In office 12 August 2020 – 18 April 2022
President	Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Prime Minister	Mahinda Rajapaksa
Preceded by	Dullas Alahapperuma
Succeeded by	Vidura Wickremanayake
In office 4 September 2015 – 26 October 2018
President	Maithripala Sirisena
Prime Minister	Ranil Wickremesinghe
Preceded by	Ranjith Maddumabandara
Succeeded by	Arjuna Ranatunga
Minister of Justice
In office 22 November 2019 – 12 August 2020
President	Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Prime Minister	Mahinda Rajapaksa
Preceded by	Thalatha Atukorale
Succeeded by	Ali Sabry
13th Leader of the Opposition
In office 16 January 2015 – 26 June 2015
President	Maithripala Sirisena
Prime Minister	Ranil Wickremesinghe
Preceded by	Ranil Wickremesinghe
Succeeded by	R. Sampanthan
Member of Parliament for Badulla District
Incumbent
Assumed office 2000
Member of Parliament for Colombo District
In office 1989–2000
Personal details
Born	(1944-09-06) 6 September 1944 (age 79) Badulla, British Ceylon
Nationality	Sri Lankan
Political party	Sri Lanka Freedom Party
Other political affiliations	Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance (2019 – Present) United People's Freedom Alliance (2004 – 2019) People's Alliance (1994 – 2004)
Alma mater	Nalanda College, Colombo
Occupation	Politics
Profession	Proctor

Nilenthi Nimal Siripala de Silva MP (born 6 September 1944) is a Sri Lankan politician currently serving as the Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation^[1] and former Cabinet Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation in 15th Parliament of Sri Lanka. He was the former Leader of the Opposition, former Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Management and former Leader of the House.^[2]

He is a member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and a Member of Parliament representing the Badulla District.

Early life and education

De Silva born to a family of teachers in Badulla. He was educated at Nalanda College, Colombo where he was a member of the college debating team. He entered Colombo Law College in 1966 and qualified as a proctor in 1971.^[3][4]

Early career

Having started his legal practice in 1971, de Silva was active in politics from his student years, having started the Sri Lanka Freedom Party Law Students Association. He supported the Sirima Bandaranaike in a campaign in the 1970 general election. He went to the United Kingdom in 1975, and qualified as a solicitor. He return to Ceylon over land in 1978, and assisted Bandaranaike in her defense in the Special Presidential Commission was appointed by President J. R. Jayawardene to investigate allegations against Bandaranaike for abuses of power during her tenure as Prime Minister.^[3]

Political career

He entered parliament in 1989 having been elected from the Colombo Electoral District in the 1989 general election and was re-elected from Colombo till 2000, when he was elected from Badulla Electoral District and had been re-elected consecutively till the present. He is the Assembly President of the World Health Organization.

Assassination attempt

On 4 July 1996 De Silva escaped with injuries in an attempted assassination by a LTTE female suicide bomber at the Stanley Road in Jaffna. This incident took place minutes after the Minister declared open a branch of Building Materials Corporation (BMC) in Jaffna. Brigadier Ananda Hamangoda (Jaffna Sector Commander), Ranjith Godamuna (Chairman, Lanka Cement) and 21 others were killed with more than 50 injured in the explosion.^[5]