Ranasinghe Premadasa (June 23, 1924 - May 1, 1993) was Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from February 6, 1978 to March 3, 1989 and President from January 2, 1989 to May 1, 1993. He was assassinated in Colombo in a suicide bombing. June 23 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... 1924 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... February 6 is the 37th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1978 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... March 3 is the 62nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (63rd in leap years). ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 2 is the 2nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... For the American televison series see Columbo. ... A suicide bombing is a bomb attack on people or property, committed by a person who knows the explosion will cause his or her own death in addition to the attacks primary purpose (see suicide, suicide weapons). ...

Ranasinghe Premadasa came from a family of modest means. He attended St Joseph's College, Colombo at that time had started an oriental languages course. Richard Ranasingha wished his son to follow this course. He originally planned to be a journalist, and translated a authobiography of Jawaharlal Nehru to Sinhala.

He was a long time member of the conservative United National Party, and the first "commoner" to reach to the highest levels in Sri Lanka. The United National Party (UNP, Sinhalese: Ekshat Jathika Pakshaya, Tamil: ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி) is a political party in Sri Lanka. ...

Part of his political program was shelter for the poor, due to which the United Nations declared a Year of Shelter, Jana Saviya, the instrument he used to help the poor, the foster parents scheme, the Gam Udawa project with which he tried to stir up the stupor in the villages, the mobile secretariat whereby he took the central government bureaucracy to the peasant, the Tower Hall Foundation for oriental drama and music, the pension schemes he initiated for the elder artistes, an unostentatious life led by him in his simple residence away from his luxurious official residence, a man who perhaps travelled the least as a politician at the helm, an oriental in the true sense of the word, are just a few among many of his achievements and qualities. The United Nations, or UN, is an international organization established in 1945 and now made up of 191 states. ...

On the economic front, the garment industry project that he initiated became a forerunner in earning foreign exchange and provision of employment in the villages. This was just one step in the direction of taking the economy to the outstations.

Ranasinghe Premadasa was killed by a suicide bomber, who had successfully infiltrated under the disguise of being a businessman.