Ranil Jayawardena
Ranil Malcolm Jayawardena[2] (born 3 September 1986) is a British Conservative politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Hampshire since 2015. He served under Prime Minister Liz Truss as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from September to October 2022. He previously served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Trade from 2020 to 2022.
Ranil Jayawardena
Office established
20,211 (34.1%)[1]
3 September 1986
London, England
3
Early life and career[edit]
Ranil Jayawardena was born on 3 September 1986 in London.[3][4] His father, Nalin Jayawardena, is of Sri Lankan origin and moved to the United Kingdom in 1978 to pursue a career in accountancy.[5][6] His mother, Indira Das Jayawardena, has Indian heritage; he also has a brother and sister.[7][6]
His early education was at Hook Infant School and Hook Junior School in Hook,[8] Robert May's School, a state comprehensive school in Odiham,[9] and Alton College in Alton.[10] Jayawardena then studied at the London School of Economics, where he graduated with a BSc in government in 2008.[11]
After university, Jayawardena worked for the Lloyds Banking Group, and according to The Guardian, was involved in lobbying Members of the European Parliament on imminent legislation affecting the European banking sector. He also worked on a voluntary basis in the office of North East Hampshire MP James Arbuthnot.[12]
Jayawardena served as a councillor on Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council from 2008 to 2015.[13] During his time as a councillor, he was also the Cabinet Member for Finance and Property, before being made Deputy Leader of the council.[14] He invested in "community safety patrollers" to target anti-social behaviour and littering[15] and provided half an hour free parking in "short stay car parks in Top of the Town".[16]
Personal life[edit]
Jayawardena lives in Bramley, Hampshire.[41] He has been married to Alison (née Roberts), a solicitor, since 2011.[6][42] The couple have two daughters and a son.[43] His wife works part-time as a Senior Researcher for his parliamentary office.[37] He is a Christian and occasionally goes to church.[3]