Ranil Wickremesinghe takes oath as Sri Lanka's prime minister at Presidential Secretariat in Colombo

Colombo: United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the prime minister of Sri Lanka on Sunday, ending a 51-day power tussle in the island nation that had crippled the government. [caption id=“attachment_2676784” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image Sri Lankan prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Getty images[/caption] Wickremesinghe was administered the oath of office by President Maithripala Sirisena at a simple ceremony held at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo. His appointment comes hours after former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was appointed Prime Minister by President Maithripala Sirisena, resigned on Saturday , paving way for the return of Wickremesinghe as premier. Sirisena had sacked Wickremesinghe on 26 October, in a controversial move which plunged the island nation into an unprecedented constitutional crisis. Sirisena agreed to reinstate Wickremesinghe in the post after a discussion with him over the phone on Friday.