Junius Richard Jayewardene

Junius Richard Jayewardene, commonly referred to by his initials JR, was a Sri Lankan lawyer, public official and statesman who served as prime minister of Sri Lanka from 1977 to 1978 and as the second president of Sri Lanka from 1978 to 1989. He was a leader of the nationalist movement in Ceylon and served in a variety of cabinet positions in the decades following independence. A longtime member of the United National Party, he led the party to a landslide victory in the 1977 parliamentary elections and served as prime minister for half a year before becoming the country's first executive president under an amended constitution.