Nimal Siripala de Silva


Nilenthi Nimal Siripala de Silva MP is Sri Lanka's Cabinet Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation in 15th Parliament of Sri Lanka. He is a member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and a Member of Parliament representing the Badulla District. He was also the former Leader of the Opposition, former Cabinet Minister, former Leader of the House.

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.

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.

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 in Jaffna. Brigadier Ananda Hamangoda, Ranjith Godamuna and 21 others were killed with more than 50 injured in the explosion.