Dudley Senanayake by him such as the Minneriya irrigation project. Contesting in the 1947 general elections from the Dedigama electorate, he was elected to the first parliament of independent Ceylon and was appointed to the cabinet as Minister of Agriculture and Lands by his father, D. S. Senanayake who became the first Prime Minister of Ceylon in 1947. He continued many of the agricultural projects he started in his first year and started the ambitious Gal Oya Project which provided water for the cultivation of over 120,000 acres. He initiated guaranteed price scheme for paddy and farmers. He received the portfolios of
Prime Minister of Iran and chose Mohammad Ali Rajai as his prime minister, mainly because of pressures imposed by Majlis representatives, specially those close to Islamic Republic Party. Rajai served in the post until Banisadr's impeachment in June, 1981, and was elected as president in the elections of July 24, 1981. Rajai chose Mohammad Javad Bahonar as his prime minister, but they were assassinated together in Prime Minister's office only a few weeks later, on August 30, 1981. When Ali Khamenei became president in the elections of October, 1981, he first introduced right-leaning Ali Akbar Velayati to the Majlis as his prime minister, but