Wickremanayake was the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2000 to 2001 and 2005 to 2010, Xinhua news agency reported.
He entered politics in 1960, winning a seat in the legislature as a member of the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (People's United Front).
In 1970, Wickremanayake was appointed the deputy minister of justice.
In the 1994 general elections, he won a seat in Parliament and was appointed as the Minister of Home Affairs, Public Administration and Plantation Industries.