Nandimithra Ekanayake

Mahinda Nandimithra Ekanayake (born 26 December 1943) is a Sri Lankan politician.

Early career Prior to entering politics in 1989, he held a number of positions with the Rural Development Department. At the age of 21, he worked as a rural development officer. He was ultimately promoted to district officer and subsequently served as the Chief Officer in charge of the Rural Development Training Center at Nalanda, Matale. During his time in the Rural Development Department, he became known as a writer and journalist. In 1984, Nandimithra joined the growing Sri Lanka Mahajana Party.

Political career In 1989, after 23 years of government work, he entered politics. He was first elected to the parliament in 1989 as the Sri Lanka Freedom Party candidate in the Matale electorate. His first appointment was as the Minister of Forestry and Environment. After several years in that post, he took over political leadership of the Central Province as the Chief Minister. He was the deputy minister of higher education, and he pledged support to Opposition Common Candidate Maithripala Sirisena at the 2015 presidential election. He is also an author and journalist who has written for many national newspapers and has written books on Buddhism.