Updated On: 21 July, 2022 12:16 PM IST | Colombo | PTI
The 73-year-old veteran politician was on Wednesday elected as Sri Lanka's President by lawmakers and sworn in on Thursday as the 8th president, days after former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country and then resigned

Sri Lanka's newly elected president Ranil Wickremesinghe. Pic/AFP
"I am not a friend of the Rajapaksas, I am a friend of the people," President Ranil Wickremesinghe has told Sri Lankans, pledging to bring in the much-needed system change they are yearning for.
The 73-year-old veteran politician was on Wednesday elected as Sri Lanka's President by lawmakers and sworn in on Thursday as the 8th president, days after former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country and then resigned.