Sri Lanka, March 9 -- This article has been prepared based on a discussion with K. B. Gunaratne, Former Director of Agriculture, who worked directly with three presidents of this country.

The Executive Presidency was introduced to Sri Lanka by Junius Richard Jayewardene (JRJ) under the 1978 Constitution. JRJ became the Prime Minister for the first time in 1977 after obtaining a 5/6 th majority at the General Election held on July 21, 1977 and created a sustainable government. Born on September 17, 1906, J.R.J was almost 71 years old when he became the Prime Minister. "He once informed me that he had lost the opportunity to become the prime minister four times because of Dudley Senanayake. People rallied around D.S. Senanayake, the father...