Background
Born to Tissa Anuruddha Mahanama Karunanayake and Carmaleka Karunanayake, daughter of former DIG Cyril Dissanayake.
Born to Tissa Anuruddha Mahanama Karunanayake and Carmaleka Karunanayake, daughter of former DIG Cyril Dissanayake.
Royal College, Colombo.
Karunanayake was the former Cabinet Minister of Commerce, Consumer Affairs from 2001 to 2004. He is the Assistant Leader of United National Party (UNP) and its chief organizer for the Colombo North Electorate in Colombo District. He is the eldest son in a family of two.
Educated at South. Thomas" Preparatory School, Kollupitiya up to his General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level, after which he proceeded to Royal College Colombo for his Advanced Level examinations.
He became a management accountant and worked for Delmege Group before heading up several directorships of new ventures in the travel industry. In 1991, ten MPs including Athulathmudali and Gamini Dissanayake left the UNP Government headed by President Premadasa and formed the DUNF. And then Gamini Dissanayake re-joined the UNP. Srimani along with the "DUNF-Lalith Front" joined the People"s Alliance under Chandrika Kumaratunga at the General Election in 1994.
In the election two MPs in the national lists were given to the DUNF, and that was the time buoyant young Ravi Karunanayake received his ticket to enter the Parliament of Sri Lanka. Kesaralal Gunesekara was the other DUNF Member of Parliament who got appointed along with Ravi.
Ravi was more towards the UNP, and as a result Srimani sacked him from the DUNF-Lalith Front.
However, through a court order, Ravi was able to became an Independent Member of Parliament in 1998-1999. With the dissolution of Parliament in 1999, he joined the UNP, and became the organiser of Kotte. In the General Election held in the year 2001, Ravi became the Minister of Trade, Commerce and Consumer Affairs.
Following the election of Maithripala Sirisena as President in 2015, he was appointed as a Minister of Finance.
He present the controversial interim budget soon after. Ravi is married to Mela and has three daughters Onella, Shenella and Minella.
As the old adage goes “behind every successful man there is a woman” and this goes to prove that Mela has been a tower of strength to him. Apart from his hectic business, political and parliamentary life Ravi Karunanayake is also a “family man” and spends considerable time with his family.
In 1988 and 1989, Ravi was in active politics and helped Lalith Athulathmudali to win his seat in Colombo District. In 1996, Srimani was removed from the Cabinet by President Chandrika Kumaratunga, and simultaneously Srimani and her party had a dispute over the affiliation to the Government.
He is the current Minister of Finance and a Member of Parliament for the Colombo District. Along with the fall of the government in the year 2004, the UNP lost the portfolio, but Ravi has remained as a Member of Parliament.