Junius Richard Jayewardene

As Prime Minister, Jayewardene oversaw the military response to the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) uprising. The government declared a state of emergency, deployed the army, and crushed the insurrection within months, resulting in thousands of deaths and mass arrests.

After winning the 1977 general election, Jayewardene's UNP government implemented sweeping economic liberalization. They removed import controls, devalued the rupee, promoted foreign investment, and established the Greater Colombo Economic Commission to create export processing zones.

Jayewardene's government passed the 1978 Constitution, replacing the Westminster-style parliamentary system with an executive presidency. He became the first Executive President of Sri Lanka, concentrating significant power in the presidency, including control over the cabinet and judiciary.

Following the LTTE ambush that killed 13 soldiers, Jayewardene's government did not deploy the military to stop anti-Tamil riots. Over several days, Sinhalese mobs killed thousands of Tamils in Colombo and elsewhere, destroying property. The pogrom radicalized the Tamil separatist movement.

Jayewardene signed the Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord with Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The accord aimed to end the Sri Lankan Civil War by devolving power to Tamil provinces and deploying the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to disarm the LTTE.