Mangala Samaraweera
Mangala Samaraweera | |
|---|---|
මංගල සමරවීර மங்கள சமரவீர | |
Samaraweera in 2015 | |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 22 May 2017 – 17 November 2019 | |
| President | Maithripala Sirisena |
| Prime Minister | Ranil Wickremesinghe |
| Preceded by | Ravi Karunanayake |
| Succeeded by | Mahinda Rajapaksa |
| Minister of Media | |
| In office 22 May 2017 – 17 November 2019 | |
| President | Maithripala Sirisena |
| Prime Minister | Ranil Wickremesinghe |
| Preceded by | Gayantha Karunathilaka |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 12 January 2015 – 22 May 2017 | |
| President | Maithripala Sirisena |
| Prime Minister | Ranil Wickremesinghe |
| Preceded by | Gamini L Peiris |
| Succeeded by | Ravi Karunanayake |
| In office 23 November 2005 – 28 January 2007 | |
| President | Mahinda Rajapaksa |
| Prime Minister | Ratnasiri Wickremanayake |
| Preceded by | Anura Bandaranaike |
| Succeeded by | Rohitha Bogollagama |
| Member of Parliament for Matara District | |
| In office 9 March 1989 – 3 March 2020 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 21 April 1956 Matara, Ceylon |
| Died | 24 August 2021 (aged 65) Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Political party | Sri Lanka Freedom Party (1983–2007) Sri Lanka Freedom Party (Mahajana) (2007–2010) United National Party (2010–2020) Samagi Jana Balawegaya (2020) |
| Parent(s) | Mahanama Samaraweera (father) Khema Padmawathi Samaraweera (mother) |
| Alma mater | Rahula College Nalanda College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo Waltham Forest College, London St. Martin's School of Art University of Kelaniya |
| Occupation | Politician |
Mangala Pinsiri Samaraweera (Sinhala: මංගල පින්සිරි සමරවීර, Tamil: மங்கள சமரவீர; pronounced [mˈʌŋgɘlɘ pinsiri sˈʌmɘrɘviːrɘ] 21 April 1956 – 24 August 2021) was a Sri Lankan politician. He was the first openly gay politician in Sri Lanka. He served as Minister of Finance from 2017 to 2019, and as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, for two terms from 2005 to 2007 and 2015 to 2017. He created a stir in Sri Lankan politics when he was sacked as a minister by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2007, after which he split from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party to form his own wing (Mahajana wing), which later merged with the United National Party in 2010.
Samaraweera served as a politician for over 30 years in his career until his retirement from politics in 2020. During his tenure as a politician, he was an advocate of liberalism and radical centrism and opposed militarisation, as well as ethnic and religious polarisation. He also advocated for LGBTQ rights in Sri Lanka, despite same-sex sexual activity and same-sex marriage being illegal in Sri Lanka.