In this paper, a five parameter Lindley Distribution (FPLD) is proposed as a new generalization of the basic Lindley distribution. The structural properties of the new distribution are investigated. These include the compounding representation of the distribution, reliability analysis and statistical measures. Expressions for Lorenz and Bonferroni curves and Renyi entropy as a measure for uncertainty reduction are derived. Maximum likelihood estimation is used to evaluate the parameters. The new model contains twelve lifetime distributions as special cases such as the Lindley, Quasi Lindley, gamma, and exponential distributions, among others. This model has the advantage of being capable of modeling various shapes of aging and failure criteria. Finally, the usefulness of the new model for modeling reliability data is illustrated using a real data set.