Colombo, Aug 20 (IANS): Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has set a record by retaining his member of parliament (MP) position for 38 years without a break since first entering the house in 1977.
He has also been the prime minister on four occasions, after serving as deputy minister, cabinet minister, leader of house and opposition leader, the SriLanka Mirror reported.
The United National Party's Gamini Jayawickrama Perera, too, first entered parliament in 1977 and continued until 1988 when he resigned to contest the northwestern provincial council polls.
Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa was first elected to parliament in 1970, but lost in the 1977 election.
He returned to parliament at the 1983 election and continued till 2005, when he became the president.