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Sri Lanka: Mahendra Rajapaksa, 6th President of Sri Lanka (2005- ). Photo by Rajith Vidanaarachchi (CC BY -SA 3.0 License)

Percy Mahendra 'Mahinda' Rajapaksa (born November 18, 1945) is the 6th and current President of Sri Lanka and Commander in Chief of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces. A lawyer by profession, Rajapaksa was first elected to the Parliament of Sri Lanka in 1970, and served as prime minister from April 6, 2004 until his victory in the 2005 Presidential election. He was sworn in for a six-year term as president on November 19, 2005. He was re-elected for a second term in office on January 27, 2010.