The true story behind Ranil Wickremasinghe’s doctorate!

In a background where there has been a lot of talk about the educational qualifications of ministers including their doctorate degrees, many people have focused their attention on the educational qualifications of former politicians.

Accordingly, we have decided to make a clarification regarding the former President’s Ranil Wickremesinghe’s doctorate degree.

Social Media Posts

Some people had posted posts on social media regarding Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe’s doctoral degree, saying that Mr. Ranil Wickramasinghe does not like to be called Dr. Ranil Wickramasinghe due to his modesty.

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Here are some other posts on the same theme.

Meanwhile, what is Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe’s doctorate? Some people have focused their attention on this regard.

Explanation

With a long political history of more than four decades, Ranil Wickramasinghe is one of the few political figures with extensive political experience who has held a large number of official positions in Sri Lankan politics.

However, Ranil Wickramasinghe is one of the most criticized politicians in Sri Lanka.

Though he holds many higher educational qualifications, a professional qualification name or educational qualification name is not used when introducing him. He has been only introduced as ‘Ranil Wickremasinghe’ along with his political position.

In the Parliament website, he is introduced only as Hon. Ranil Wickramasinghe.

But it has been stated in the Parliament website that he is a lawyer by profession. It is also stated that he has completed his law degree as an educational qualification.

However, there is no mention about his doctorate degree in the Parliament website.

In a BBC article published regarding the educational qualification of presidential candidates of 2024 Presidential Election, the educational qualifications of Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe is mentioned as follows.

In that also it is mentioned that he has studied a law degree and has worked as a lawyer for five years.

In particular, it has been mentioned that in 2017, he was awarded a doctorate degree from Deakin University in Australia.

Doctorate of Ranil Wickremasinghe

We checked whether former President Ranil Wickremasinghe received a doctorate degree in 2017 and we got to know that a doctorate degree was awarded to him by Deakin University in Australia.

Here, and here you can refer to some of the reports that were published in 2017.

It mentions that Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe was awarded with a doctorate degree (Honorary Doctorate in Law), in recognition of his long service as a Member of Parliament, Minister and Prime Minister and his service to uplift the economic, educational and human rights fields.

On the 14th of 2017, at the graduation ceremony held in the main hall of Deakin University, the Chancellor, Prof. John Stanhope, presented this honorary doctorate degree.

The Vice Chancellor of the University, Mrs. Jane Den Hollander has mentioned that Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe’s efforts as raising the name of Sri Lanka internationally, laying the groundwork for receiving financial support from the international community, and commitment to establishing good governance were also taken into consideration.

We also checked the website of Deakin University in Australia and it also mentions the doctorate awarded to Mr. Ranil Wickramasinghe by the university in 2017.

Accordingly, it is clear that this doctorate degree was not received by him after pursuing a doctorate degree, but was received from Deakin University in Australia in honor of his service.

A special point mentioned in the above news is that after this ceremony, the then Prime Minister’s Secretary Mr. Saman Ekanayake was instructed by Mr. Ranil Wickramasinghe not to use this honorary degree title for his official or personal work. Many thought that he has taken a decision like that due to his modesty. But we made an inquiry whether he was allowed to use the title of doctor in his day today life.

How does the Deakin university refer to the Honorary Doctorate Degree?

Deakin University in Australia has mentioned the honorary degrees they offer and it specifically states that the doctorate is not part of the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) and is awarded only as an honorary award.

In other words, these honorary degrees are awarded in recognition of the contribution made to the community in accordance with the objectives of the university.

The Deakin University states that the honorary doctorate degree that they offer is limited only at the University and the title Dr. cannot be used in the outside society. You can refer to the details here.

You can refer to the process of the honorary doctorate degree offered by the Deakin University in their official website.

It is clear from the information on its website that every year Deakin University in Australia awards honorary doctorate degrees in various subjects to world-respected figures.

Therefore, it is clear that former President Ranil Wickramasinghe has received this doctorate degree from Deakin University in Australia as an honorary award and it cannot be used as an educational qualification in general practice.

In 2024, the honorary doctorate degree has been offered to 5 recipients, and in 2017 along with Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe, 7 people were awarded with the honorary doctorate degree. You can refer to all the details here.

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