Mahinda Rajapaksa (IPA:�[maˈhində ˈraːɟəˌpakʂə], Sinhala:මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, full name Percy Mahinda Rajapaksa; born November 18, 1945) is the 6th and current executive President of Sri Lanka. 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. President Rajapaksa is credited with defeating Tamil Tiger (LTTE) rebels completely and uniting Sri Lanka as one nation on May 18, 2009, the day LTTE leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran was killed.[1]... more