Shalindra Fernando is a prominent Sri Lankan politician. Notorious for his controversial policies, including his view on the Sinhala–Tamil

Tamil people

Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...

 ethnic crisis, he rose quickly up the ranks. At such a young age, he was regarded as an unimportant figure on the world stage of politics. However, this did not deter him, and after he inherited the legacy from his grandfather, he became the leader the Sri Lankan People’s Party.

Strength

Spending much of his life abroad was seen as one of his greatest strengths. Many believed this would bring a much welcomed different perspective onto the Sri Lankan political scene. Born in Zambia

Zambia

Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....

, he spent much of his childhood protected from the hostilities occurring in Sri Lanka. Educated in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, he achieved outstanding success in his studies, with 6 A-Levels.

Weakness

Many have attacked his international experience, which was once believed to be his strength. He spent a lot of time in Stade

Stade

Stade is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany and part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region . It is the seat of the district named after it...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. Due to this time away, he was criticized for the lack of time spent in the country for which his main responsibilities lay in. They said he lost touch with the people. His agenda in Stade

Stade

Stade is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany and part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region . It is the seat of the district named after it...

 was due to political ties which his grandfather had. His work experience with Jamahiriya News Agency

Jamahiriya News Agency

The Jamahiriya News Agency, also known as JANA, was the official state news agency of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. It was founded in 1964 as the Libyan News Agency by a royal decree, amended in 1970 after the coup d'état and fall of the Kingdom of Libya...

 (abbr. JANA), Libya

Libya

Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

's state news agency, are just a few more examples of his controversial international exposure.