<p>Sri Lanka's former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa on Thursday took oath as the new prime minister of the island nation after incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe formally stepped down from his post.</p>.<p>Rajapaksa, the elder brother of the newly elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, will function as the prime minister of the caretaker cabinet until the general election in August 2020.</p>.<p>The 74-year-old leader, who described himself as "a rebel with a cause", earlier served as the country's president from 2005-2015, becoming South Asia's longest-serving leader. He was also prime minister for a brief period in 2018.</p>.<p>Gotabaya on Wednesday named Rajapaksa as the new prime minister after incumbent Wickremesinghe announced his resignation from the post following the presidential election debacle.</p>.<p>Gotaaya defeated Wickremesinghe's deputy Sajith Premadasa in the presidential election held on November 16.</p>.<p>Rajapaksa was appointed the prime minister on October 26, 2018, by the then President Maithripala Sirisena, who sacked Wickremesinghe in a controversial move that plunged the country into an unprecedented constitutional crisis.</p>.<p>He resigned on December 15 as two crucial Supreme Court decisions made the former strongman's efforts to cling to premiership untenable.</p>.<p>The apex court later unanimously declared that the dissolution of Parliament by President Sirisena was "illegal".</p>.<p>Rajapaksa became the country's youngest-ever parliamentarian in 1970 at the age of 24.</p>.<p>The two brothers -- Rajapaksa and Gotabaya -- led a decisive campaign that helped end the island nation's three-decade-long civil war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). </p>
<p>Sri Lanka's former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa on Thursday took oath as the new prime minister of the island nation after incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe formally stepped down from his post.</p>.<p>Rajapaksa, the elder brother of the newly elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, will function as the prime minister of the caretaker cabinet until the general election in August 2020.</p>.<p>The 74-year-old leader, who described himself as "a rebel with a cause", earlier served as the country's president from 2005-2015, becoming South Asia's longest-serving leader. He was also prime minister for a brief period in 2018.</p>.<p>Gotabaya on Wednesday named Rajapaksa as the new prime minister after incumbent Wickremesinghe announced his resignation from the post following the presidential election debacle.</p>.<p>Gotaaya defeated Wickremesinghe's deputy Sajith Premadasa in the presidential election held on November 16.</p>.<p>Rajapaksa was appointed the prime minister on October 26, 2018, by the then President Maithripala Sirisena, who sacked Wickremesinghe in a controversial move that plunged the country into an unprecedented constitutional crisis.</p>.<p>He resigned on December 15 as two crucial Supreme Court decisions made the former strongman's efforts to cling to premiership untenable.</p>.<p>The apex court later unanimously declared that the dissolution of Parliament by President Sirisena was "illegal".</p>.<p>Rajapaksa became the country's youngest-ever parliamentarian in 1970 at the age of 24.</p>.<p>The two brothers -- Rajapaksa and Gotabaya -- led a decisive campaign that helped end the island nation's three-decade-long civil war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). </p>