Had former Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa lived to celebrate his 102nd birthday, it would have fallen on June 23, 2026. Premadasa, a politically self-made leader from humble beginnings, served as the second Executive President of Sri Lanka from 1989 until his assassination in 1993. He was the first non-aristocratic “commoner” to rise to the nation’s highest office, breaking the long-standing dominance of the landed elite, high-caste aristocracy, and wealthy political families. Emerging from modest social origins, Premadasa represented a rare example of social mobility in Sri Lankan politics. He often marked his birthdays in remote villages through the “Gam Udawa” (Village Reawakening) programme.

It is fitting to begin this column with an anecdote connected to Gam Udawa. Following the Gam Udawa ceremony in Buttala, Premadasa took a helicopter ride with several officials and identified a site in Mahiyangana for the next programme. He instructed the Director of Town and Country Planning to prepare a sketch plan for the location.

When the Director later returned to Colombo and met the President, Premadasa asked, “Where is the sketch plan?” Instead of producing a plan, the Director handed over a small piece of paper and said, “Sir, when I stepped out of the vehicle, a youth handed me this note.”

Premadasa brought the note to a meeting at Sethsiripaya attended by nearly one hundred officials and read it aloud. The message stated: “If you visit again, you will not leave alive.”

Holding up the note before the gathering, Premadasa asked sharply: “If a mere threat is enough to stop an officer from carrying out his duty, what use are such officers to the country?”

Ascendency to the Presidency

Premadasa assumed office during one of the most turbulent periods in the country’s post-independence history. Sri Lanka was engulfed in twin civil conflicts while still grappling with the consequences of the sweeping economic and constitutional changes introduced through the open economy reforms and the 1978 Constitution. Poverty had deepened, export growth had slowed, balance-of-payments pressures persisted, and external debt continued to mount. The nation stood politically divided, economically strained, and socially unsettled.

At a public meeting, Premadasa once remarked that the Presidency was not “a crown placed upon my head, but a melting pot.” He believed governance should not remain the preserve of a privileged few. Ordinary people, in his view, had to participate in every aspect of governance — from policymaking to implementation. Citizens should share both the responsibility and the benefits of development.

Premadasa often argued that the root cause of unrest was the reduction of people into “mere voting machines operating once in five years.” It was within this philosophy that he introduced the concept of poverty alleviation into Sri Lanka’s national development agenda. He frequently observed that while institutions existed for every crop, few truly existed for the people themselves.

Janasaviya (People’s Strength) Programme

Out of this thinking emerged the people-centred programme Janasaviya, which combined welfare with production-oriented development. Its objective was not merely to help the poor survive, but to enable them to rebuild their lives with dignity and self-reliance. Purpose was alleviating poverty and empowering low-income households. Initially, Janasaviya beneficiaries received baskets of essential goods, many of which consisted of inexpensive imported utensils and crockery purchased through cooperative channels. Premadasa quickly recognised the contradiction and directed that the baskets instead contain locally produced items such as brooms, pottery, serviettes, and other village products. In this way, he envisioned the village not only as a marketplace, but also as a centre of production and economic self-sufficiency. Approach was to combine welfare assistance with credit, livelihood support, and production-oriented activities aimed at self-reliance.

Landmark 200 Garment Factory Programme

Thereafter, he launched the 200 Garment Factory Programme with the purpose of decentralising industrialisation and create rural employment. Approach was to Utilize U.S. garment quotas while offering incentives and infrastructure support for investors willing to establish factories outside major urban centres. Transformed apparel into a major foreign exchange earner while creating employment opportunities, particularly for rural women. At the time, many mocked the idea, questioning whether the country could survive by “selling underwear to Western markets.” Premadasa, however, remained undeterred. Within a few years, garment factories emerged across rural Sri Lanka, bringing investment, employment, and economic activity to regions long neglected. For the first time, investors moved decisively beyond Colombo into the country’s remote periphery.

Those who attended his weekly review meetings at the BMICH would remember the relentless follow-up that characterized his leadership. Secretaries and heads of institutions responsible for urban development, housing, electricity, telecommunications, water supply, and roads rushed from office to office to ensure they could report back to the President with a simple answer: “Yes, Sir, it is done.”

One incident became emblematic of his problem-solving style. A Ceylon Electricity Board official informed an investor that electricity could not be supplied because there were no poles available in the area. Premadasa summoned the official and asked a single question: “Are there coconut trees in the area?” When the answer was yes, he immediately ordered that the lines be drawn using the coconut trees until proper poles could be installed. The issue was resolved within minutes.

Premadasa personally inspected garment factory construction sites and monitored even the smallest details. During one visit, he noticed that several roofs in the adjoining village remained uncovered. Turning to the factory manager, he instructed that by the time he returned to declare the factory open, every roof must be properly covered.

Other Key Programmes

Gam Udawa (Village Reawakening) Movement

Purpose: To provide housing for the poor and improve rural living conditions.

Focus: Development of model villages with housing, roads, schools, water supply, and health facilities. The programme was Sri Lanka’s most ambitious rural housing initiative that drew international recognition leading to the United Nations’ declaration of International Year of Shelter for the Homeless.

Presidential Mobile Service

Purpose: To reduce bureaucratic delays and bring government services directly to the people.

Method: Ministers, secretaries, and senior officials travelled to the provinces to resolve public grievances on the spot creating direct engagement between the state and rural communities.

Industrial, Educational, and Cultural Initiatives

Established the Koggala Free Trade Zone and transformed the Greater Colombo Economic Commission into the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI), helping attract export-oriented investment.

Introduced free school uniforms to ease the burden on low-income families.

Established the Tower Hall Foundation to support theatre and music and introduced pension schemes for elderly artists.

Job Bank

On a concept introduced by President Premadasa, the Government established a “Job Bank” with the objective of eliminating arbitrary recruitment practices and political patronage in public sector appointments. Unemployed youth were invited to register with the Job Bank, and President Premadasa directed that vacancies in the public sector be filled from among those registered candidates through competitive written examinations and interviews rather than through ministerial recommendations or political influence.

Resource Profile

On the instructions of President Premadasa, a Resource Profile for every Divisional Secretary’s Division (DSD) was also prepared. These profiles contained detailed information on the resources, development potential, issues, and opportunities within each DS Division. The system became an important planning and development tool and continues to be updated and maintained in DSDs across the country.

Independent Verification of Information

He was also known for independently verifying information rather than relying on a single source. Soon after assuming office, a tragic accident occurred at an unprotected railway crossing in Ahangama, where a train collided with a school bus, killing and injuring students. Deeply disturbed, Premadasa ordered the General Manager of Railways (GMR) to ensure that within two weeks no unprotected railway crossing remained in the country.

When the GMR later submitted a report confirming completion, Premadasa sought independent verification from police stations around the country. One station confirmed that a crossing still remained unprotected. The GMR then faced his day of reckoning.

On another occasion, Premadasa invited opposition political parties for discussions on proposals relating to District Development and Coordination. Arriving early for the meeting, I quietly peeped into the room and saw a man rearranging furniture and shifting chairs. As he turned, smiling, he said, “Ah, you have come.” It was President Premadasa himself.

Impatience with Negativity

His impatience with bureaucratic negativity was legendary. During a discussion on land alienation and ownership, officials repeatedly explained why his proposals could not be implemented. Finally, in visible frustration, he remarked: “I have asked you to do 101 things. Is there not even one thing that all of you can do?” The officials understood the message immediately.

On another occasion, he promised every local authority a set of maintenance machinery before the Sinhala and Tamil New Year. Procurement was entrusted to a senior minister, who failed to secure the equipment in time. Yet once the President fixed the date for the handing-over ceremony, “No” was not considered an acceptable answer.

At the time, I had imported several maintenance machines for distribution among Divisional Secretariats. The minister contacted me urgently and requested that I lend him the machinery for one week. Trusting his assurance, I agreed. The following day itself, the machines appeared at Galle Face Green, where an elaborate ceremony was held with local authority chairmen from across the country. President Premadasa commended the minister for the “prompt completion” of the task and ceremonially handed over the equipment. The following day, the relieved minister telephoned me and said gratefully: “Mr. Maliyadde, you saved my neck.”

Visionary Driven by Action

Premadasa was a visionary driven by action. Under his leadership, garments emerged as Sri Lanka’s first major industrial export, transforming an export economy that for more than a century had depended overwhelmingly on tea, rubber, and coconut. Even decades later, apparel remains the country’s principal industrial export sector.

Though not formally trained as an economist, Premadasa instinctively understood concepts that economists often confined to seminars — growth nodes, export diversification, value addition and forward and backward linkages. He transformed these concepts into practice.

He believed the economy could not depend solely on garment assembly. Garment factories, in his view, had to become centres of wider economic activity that stimulated industrial and social development. He encouraged textile production for local supply to garment factories, while also seeking to integrate Janasaviya beneficiaries into these expanding economic networks. For Premadasa, the garment factory programme was not merely an export initiative; it was a bridge linking the village poor, local entrepreneurs, and international markets within a single chain of opportunity.

Right Man for the Right Job

He also possessed a remarkable ability to identify the right man (not the right-hand man) for the right job. Political loyalty, caste, or creed mattered less to him than competence and commitment. That was why he appointed Susil Siriwardane, a prominent JVP activist who was involved in 1971 insurrection, for which he was detained and convicted by the courts, as the first Commissioner of Janasaviya. Many individuals chosen to lead his programmes came not from his own party, but from outside it.

President Premadasa held office for only four years. Yet within that brief period, he launched programmes with the scale and impact of decades of development.

Leadership Style

Premadasa’s leadership style was defined by relentless follow-up, strict monitoring, and an uncompromising belief that obstacles existed to be overcome. Officials knew they had to be prepared for action at any hour of the day. He cultivated a reputation as a leader who refused to accept the words “cannot” or “impossible.”

His vision sought to combine social welfare with a regulated market economy, pursuing what many viewed as a distinctly Sri Lankan “third path” of development. He remains remembered as a determined and action-oriented leader whose policies left a lasting imprint on Sri Lanka’s social and economic landscape.

(Chandrasena Maliyadde is a former Secretary, Ministry of Plan Implementation. He can be reached at chandra.maliyadde@gmail.com)

by Chandrasena Maliyadde