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Dilith Jayaweera

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Hon.
Dilith Jayaweera
MP
Dilith Jayaweera
Member of Parliament
for National List
Incumbent
Assumed office
21 November 2024
Leader of the Mawbima Janatha Party
Incumbent
Assumed office
September 2023
Personal details
Born
Dilith Susantha Jayaweera

(1967-09-18) 18 September 1967 (age 57)
Galle, Sri Lanka
Political partyMawbima Janatha Party
Other political
affiliations		Sarvajana Balaya
SpouseNelum
Education
Occupation
Known for
Websitegeorgesteuart.lk

Dilith Susantha Jayaweera (born 18 September 1967) is a Sri Lankan businessman, entrepreneur, media mogul, lawyer and politician.[1] He is the current Chairman of George Steuart Group of Companies, and the founder and CEO of TV Derana. He entered politics in September 2023 and is the founder and leader of the Mawbima Janatha Pakshaya.[1]

In 2011, he was named by the LMD as one of the top 10 Business People of the Year.[2][3] In 2020, Jayaweera was among 100 corporate leaders named by the LMD[4] on its A-list of businesspeople in Sri Lanka.

Education

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Jayaweera received his primary and secondary education at St. Aloysius' College, Galle, and later joined the Faculty of Law at the University of Colombo, and subsequently Sri Lanka Law College, where he qualified as an Attorney-At-Law. He also holds an MBA from the University of Wales.

Entrepreneurial career

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A lawyer by profession, Jayaweera set up Triad Advertising (Pvt.) Limited in 1993, in partnership with Varuni Amunugama, whom he had met at the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo.[5][6]

Jayaweera also funded the ‘Api Wenuwen Api’ Housing Project, a campaign created on behalf of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces to raise the profile of the Sri Lankan army, navy and air forces during the latter stages of the Sri Lankan civil war against the LTTE.[7]

In the post-war Sri Lankan economy, Jayaweera rose to prominence as an aggressive investor[8][9][10][11] – his investment arm Divasa Equity is a majority shareholder in public listed companies such as Citrus Leisure PLC[12] and Colombo Land & Development Company PLC.[13] In October 2011, Jayaweera took over the 176-year-old George Steuart Group,[14][15] Sri Lanka's oldest mercantile establishment. Jayaweera has held board positions on the Boards of several companies including Citrus Leisure PLC, Colombo Land PLC, and Triad (Pvt.) Ltd, and is the Chairman of the George Steuart Group of Companies.

Jayaweera's media investments includes two national television channels (Derana Macro Entertainment (Television)), one national radio channel (Derana Macro Entertainment (Radio)) and three national newspapers (Liberty Publishers).[16][17] Jayaweera has also entered industries such as travel and leisure, pharmaceuticals, property and manufacturing via the George Steuart Group of Companies.[14]

Political career

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Dilith Jayaweera played a significant role in Gotabaya Rajapaksa's 2019 presidential campaign, through multifaceted support and strategic media influence.[18] Jayaweera orchestrated a media strategy that significantly amplified the Rajapaksa campaign's visibility islandwide.[19]

Dilith Jayaweera formally entered Sri Lankan politics in 2023 when he founded and was appointed as the leader of the Mawbima Janatha Pakshaya (MJP), succeeding Hemakumara Nanayakkara, who was appointed to an advisory position as Senior Leader of the party.[1][20][21][22] Prior the announcement, Jayaweera resigned from several of his company board positions.[23]

2024 presidential election

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On 4 August 2024, Jayaweera was announced as the presidential candidate of the Sarvajana Balaya in the 2024 Sri Lankan presidential election. The Sarvajana Balaya was a political alliance led by Jayaweera consisting of the Jathika Nidahas Peramuna, Pivithuru Hela Urumaya, Mawbima Janatha Pakshaya, the Democratic Left Front, the Communist Party of Sri Lanka and the Independent MP’s Forum.[24] Jayaweera submitted nominations from the Communist Party to contest under the "star" symbol.[25]

Jayaweera finished in sixth place in the first round, winning 122,396 votes.[26]

Jayaweera contested for 2024 parliamentary election from Gampaha district, but failed to secure a seat. However, he entered the parliament through the only national list seat his party gained at the election.[27]

Controversies

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In 2011, District Judge of Colombo issued an enjoining order against Shan Wickremesinghe, TNL TV chairman and brother of former president Ranil Wickremesinghe, and one of his directors preventing them from defaming Dilith Jayaweera on a local radio channel Isira Radio. The order was given consequent to action filed by Dilith Jayaweera against Shan Wickremesinghe and his co-host for defamatory comments made on a radio show.[28] Jayaweera also sent the BBC Sinhala service a letter of demand for defamation for carrying a story on the subject.[29]

In 2015, one notable incident was his investigation for stock market manipulation through pump-and-dump schemes by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID).[30][31] But nothing has been proven yet.

In 2020-21, There was significant controversy and criticism regarding the profits made from these test kits, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Critics, including some members of the Buddhist clergy, claimed that the company made excessive profits by selling the test kits at high prices to private hospitals.But it has not been proved yet. However, Dilith Jayaweera has given answers to the accusation with evidence.[32]

Personal life

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Dilith Jayaweera is married to Nelum, his contemporary at the University of Colombo. Dilith, along with his three brothers Lalith, Gayan and Upul, grew up in Galle, on the southern coast of Sri Lanka. His father was an Additional Registrar of Lands and his mother was a school principal.[33]

Dilith Jayaweera is an acquaintance of Dinesh Palipana, a Sri Lankan-Australian doctor and Queensland's first quadriplegic medical intern.[34] Palipana has credited Jayaweera with helping him progress through the accident that left him a quadriplegic.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Top Businessman Dilith Jayaweera officially enters politics". 11 September 2023.
  2. ^ "LMD Top Ten Businesspeople_Dilith Jayaweera". Archived from the original on 12 July 2012.
  3. ^ "LMD Top 10 Businesspeople 2011". Archived from the original on 9 November 2011.
  4. ^ "LMD 100 Club".
  5. ^ "History of Triad Advertising". Archived from the original on 16 December 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  6. ^ "The Bottomline 18 March 2009". Archived from the original on 13 June 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  7. ^ "www.apiwenuwenapi.com - Apiwenuwenapi Housing Project is a programme of Ministry of Defence in Sri Lanka". www.apiwenuwenapi.com.
  8. ^ "Financial Times 7th June 2011 Dial Dilith for a Deal". Archived from the original on 3 August 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  9. ^ "Echelon Magazine January 2013 Dilith shrugs off mafia controversy". Archived from the original on 25 February 2014.
  10. ^ "Business Today December 2012 Cover Story".
  11. ^ "Ceylon Today 27 October 2013 Difficult to be financially successful without making enemies".
  12. ^ "Financial Times 18 Oct 2011". Archived from the original on 20 November 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  13. ^ "Daily FT 21 May 2011". Archived from the original on 30 August 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  14. ^ a b "George Steuart Group of Companies". georgesteuart.lk.
  15. ^ "Financial Times 12 Sept 2011". Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  16. ^ "අරුණ". Aruna.
  17. ^ "Latest in the News Sphere | The Morning". Latest in the News Sphere | The Morning.
  18. ^ Derana Chairman Dilith reveals the Kelaniya cobra that made Gota president!, 9 January 2023
  19. ^ අද දෙරණ රාත්‍රී 10.00 පුවත් විකාශය 2019.11.17, 17 November 2019
  20. ^ "Dilith Jayaweera enters politics". Times Online.
  21. ^ https://elections.gov.lk/web/wp-content/uploads/pdf/pol_party_list/Officers/64_67.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  22. ^ "Dilith Jayaweera Assumes Leadership of Mawbima Janatha Party, Eyes National Elections". asianmirror.lk.
  23. ^ "Dilith the politician quits from several listed company boards | Daily FT". www.ft.lk.
  24. ^ "Dilith Jayaweera named Presidential Candidate of 'Sarvajana Balaya'". www.adaderana.lk. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  25. ^ "Dilith Jayaweera places deposits to contest Presidential Election". www.adaderana.lk. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  26. ^ "Presidential Election 2024 – All island result – Without preferences" (PDF). Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 22 September 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 October 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  27. ^ "Sarvajana Balaya nominates Dilith Jayaweera as national list MP". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  28. ^ "Financial Times 17 Nov 2011". Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  29. ^ "Financial Times". Archived from the original on 17 November 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  30. ^ "Exposé: Tiran-Dilith And Sirisena: How The President Interfered To Prevent The Arrest Of Murder Suspect Wasantha Karannagoda". Colombo Telegraph. 11 March 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  31. ^ "Dilith Jayaweera Shrugs off Mafia Controversy - Echelon". echelon.lk. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  32. ^ "Dilith's Company Making Whopping Profits From Antigen Test Kits: Senior Monk Cries Foul". Colombo Telegraph. 19 August 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  33. ^ "Dilith Jayaweera". September 2019.
  34. ^ "He reached the unreachable star | The Sunday Times Sri Lanka". www.sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
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