Profile of Sri Lanka presidential candidates

Mahinda Rajapakse

President Mahinda Rajapakse hails from the Medamulana village in the south of the island. He was born on November 18, 1945 into a family of politicians. His father was a longstanding politician and so were his uncle and cousin, who served as minister.

He is the second son in a family of six boys and three girls. He grew up like any rural lad and received his early education at Richmond before moving to Colombo where he studied at Nalanda and Thurstan Colleges.

In 1967 at the relatively tender age of 22, he was appointed as the SLFP candidate for Beliatta after his father's death. In 1970 he was elected to Parliament with a record majority of 6,626 votes.

Six years later in 1976 he took oath as an Attorney-at-Law. However a year later in 1977 he worked for long years in the opposition following United National Party's unprecedented electoral victory, securing a five-sixths majority in Parliament leading to a new constitution and the creation of an Executive Presidency.

Dark days

Those were dark days for the opposition and Mahinda served a three-month jail term in the Magazine Prison in 1985. He returned to Parliament in 1989. In 1994, he was appointed as Minister of Labour in the new government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga. Later he served as Minister of Fisheries.

He was the founder president of the Sri Lanka Committee for Solidarity with Palestinian People a post he served for more than 30 years until he assumed office as prime minister.

He became Prime Minister in April 2004 before assuming office as the fifth Executive President of Sri Lanka. As the Executive President he was credited with the crushing defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam-the world's most dreaded and ruthless terrorist organisation responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands and held the country to ransom for more than three decades.

General Sarath Fonseka

General Sarath Fonseka was born on December 18, 1950 in Ambalangoda in the south west coast of the island. His parents were both teachers. He received his early education at Dharmasoka College, Ambalangoda before joining Ananda College in Colombo.

Fonseka joined the Sri Lanka Army in 1970 and saw action throughout the 26-year civil war, culminating in a term as commander from December 6, 2005 to July 15, 2009.

In 1993, when the Jaffna Fort was under siege for a long period, the then Colonel   Fonseka led troops in the ‘Midnight Express' operation to rescue the besieged troops. Incidentally, the incumbent Secretary of Defence Lieutenant Colonel Gotabaya Rajapakse was with him. Several hundred soldiers were saved in the operation.

He is a former commander of the Sri Lanka Army and a former Chief of Defence Staff of Sri Lanka.

As Commander of the Army, Fonseka played an instrumental role in ending the Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009. He was also the first serving officer to be promoted to a four star rank in the Sri Lanka Army.

Survived

On April 25, 2006, Lt Gen Fonseka survived a LTTE suicide bomb attack in which he was seriously injured and nine others were killed. The bomber, who may have been pregnant, had infiltrated the heavily-secured Army headquarters in Colombo and attacked the general's car when he was on his way to the officer's mess.

The general was rushed first to the military hospital at the headquarters and then transferred to the Colombo General Hospital before he was flown to Singapore for treatment. He recovered and resumed his duties in July.

He is married to Anoma Indumathi Munasinghe and has two daughters Aparna and Apsara.

He runs his campaign under the sign of swan with the slogan ‘Country Before Me'.