[7] Senanayake had earlier resigned from the Ceylon National Congress due to its revised aim in achieving independence from the British Empire.

[8][7] The UNP represented the business community and the landed gentry, though Senanayake appealed to landless people by adopting populist policies.

During his tenure, Dudley Senanayake launched several projects to further develop the agricultural sector and was termed "Bath Dun Piya" (English: the father who offered free rice to the nation).

[10] The UNP attempted to reduce the rice ration, resulting in the 1953 Hartal (general strike and protest), which led to the resignation of Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake.

He was succeeded by his cousin, Colonel Sir John Kotelawala, who launched several major power generation and infrastructure projects.

[10] There was growing disaffection with the UNP particularly because of its support of minority religious groups – most notably Catholics – to the consternation of the predominantly Buddhist Sinhalese.

The UNP entered a coalition with the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna and the Tamil ethnic Federal Party which took power in 1965 under Dudley Senanayake.

A bitter leadership battle in the UNP developed between the populist Dudley Senanayake and the more conservative Junius Richard Jayewardene, a strong supporter of free-market and pro-American policies.

The United Front faced general disaffection from its economic policies and its brutal crackdown against a 1971 Marxist–Leninist insurrection by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP).

The UNP, which promised each person with an 8-pound (3.6 kg) cereal ration, returned to power in 1977 with an unprecedented five-sixths majority in parliament.

[10] By 1987, the Sri Lankan military had cornered the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)[clarification needed] in Jaffna and were confident of bringing an end to the civil war.

After he was elected as president in 1988, he launched the Million Houses Programme for the homeless and started the 'Village Re-Awakening Movement' (Gam Udawa) to develop rural areas across the country.

While in opposition, many of UNP stalwarts were killed by an LTTE suicide terrorist attack including presidential candidate Gamini Dissanayake.

Party leadership was passed to Jayewardene's nephew, Ranil Wickremesinghe, a relatively young politician with pro-western views and a penchant for neoliberal economic policies.

Wickremesinghe secured the support of former government notables, including former Kumaratunga confidants, G. L. Peiris, and S. B. Dissanayake, who would later become important members of the party.

The government created key economic institutions such as the Board of Investment, the Ministry for Small and Rural Enterprises, and the Information Communication Technology Agency.

However, cease-fire breaches by the LTTE, including the constant stream of assassinations of military spies, emboldedend nationalistic and extremist factions such as the JVP and its cover organizations to organise protests.

Kumaratunga and her confidants launched a massive media attack on their nominal partners, branding Wickremesinghe as a traitor and accusing the UNP government of "selling" national heritage sites to foreigners.

[citation needed] Early in 2004, the SLFP and JVP formed the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA), marking the beginning of the end for the UNP government.

It is widely believed that if not for the boycott of the polls in the North and parts of the East, allegedly due to LTTE intimidation, Wickramsinghe would have won, though he was unable to gain the trust of the bulk of the majority Sinhalese community.

[17] In early 2007, 18 senior members of the UNP joined President Mahinda Rajapaksa's ruling coalition, receiving ministerial positions.

This resulted in a state of political unrest, as the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the President and the UNP leader in late 2006 was read as no longer valid.

This incident, generally recorded in the press as 'crossovers', also resulted in a state where a number of senior officials expressed concern over the 'jumbo cabinet'.

The new government presented a budget to parliament two weeks later, giving benefits including a 10,000 Sri Lankan rupees pay hike and reduced prices on 13 goods.

UNP signed a memorandum of understanding with SLFP for a national unity government, and Wickremesinghe made cabinet appointments from both parties.

Youth participation Due to the worsening economic crisis and widespread protests in 2022, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who wished to form a government of national unity, invited Wickremesinghe to once again assume the office of Prime Minister as a reconciliatory effort towards the opposition.

The relevant parties represented in parliament, Samagi Jana Banawegaya and Tamil National Alliance, refused to take up portfolios in such a cabinet, however they offered conditional support to policies aimed at reviving the economy.

[42] Ranil Wickremesinghe was officially sworn in as the acting president, and was later elected by the Parliament of Sri Lanka to complete the remainder of Rajapaksa's term.

[51] Wickremesinghe left the Presidential Secretariat on 23 September 2024, allowing for a peaceful transition of power to Dissanayake, who succeeded him as President.