Mangala Samaraweera | |
---|---|
මංගල සමරවීර மங்கள சமரவீர | |
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 | Matara, Ceylon | 21 April 1956
Died | 24 August 2021 Colombo, Sri Lanka | (aged 65)
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) |
Occupation | Politician |
Mangala Pinsiri Samaraweera (Sinhala: මංගල පින්සිරි සමරවීර, Tamil: மங்கள சமரவீர; pronounced [mˈʌŋgɘlɘ pinsiri sˈʌmɘrɘviːrɘ] 21 April 1956[1] – 24 August 2021) was a Sri Lankan politician.
He was the first openly gay politician from Sri Lanka.[2] He was the Minister of Finance from 2017 to 2019, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, for two terms from 2005 to 2007 and 2015 to 2017.[3] He created a stir in Sri Lankan politics when he was sacked as a minister by President Mahinda Rajapakse in 2007, after which he formed a new political party called the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (Mahajana) Wing, which later merged with the United National Party in 2010.[4]
Samaraweera served as a politician for over 30 years in his career until his retirement from politics in 2020.[5] During his tenure as a politician, he was an advocate of liberalism and radical centrism opposing militarisation, as well as ethnic and religious polarisation.[6][7] He also advocated for LGBT rights in Sri Lanka, despite Sri Lanka having not legalised LGBT rights.[8][9]