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Mangala Samaraweera

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.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4]

Hon.
Mangala Samaraweera
මංගල සමරවීර
மங்கள சமரவீர
Samaraweera in 2015
Minister of Finance
In office
22 May 2017 – 17 November 2019
PresidentMaithripala Sirisena
Prime MinisterRanil Wickremesinghe
Preceded byRavi Karunanayake
Succeeded byMahinda Rajapaksa
Minister of Media
In office
22 May 2017 – 17 November 2019
PresidentMaithripala Sirisena
Prime MinisterRanil Wickremesinghe
Preceded byGayantha Karunathilaka
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
12 January 2015 – 22 May 2017
PresidentMaithripala Sirisena
Prime MinisterRanil Wickremesinghe
Preceded byGamini L Peiris
Succeeded byRavi Karunanayake
In office
23 November 2005 – 28 January 2007
PresidentMahinda Rajapaksa
Prime MinisterRatnasiri Wickremanayake
Preceded byAnura Bandaranaike
Succeeded byRohitha Bogollagama
Member of Parliament
for Matara District
In office
9 March 1989 – 3 March 2020
Personal details
Born(1956-04-21)21 April 1956
Matara, Ceylon
Died24 August 2021(2021-08-24) (aged 65)
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Political partySri 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)
OccupationPolitician

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 and opposed militarisation, as well as ethnic and religious polarisation.[6][7] He also advocated for LGBTQ rights in Sri Lanka, despite same-sex sexual activity and same-sex marriage being illegal in Sri Lanka.[8][9]

Early life and education

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Mangala Samaraweera was born on 21 April 1956 in Matara, Sri Lanka, the son of Mahanama Samaraweera and Khema Padmawathi Amaraweera. His father was a cabinet Minister of Local Government, Housing, Communications, Posts and Telecommunications in Sirimavo Bandaranaike's government and his mother served as a member of the Matara Urban Council.

Educated at Royal College, Colombo and at Waltham Forest College, London, he gained a BA in Clothing Design and Technology from St. Martin's School of Art in London, he served as a design consultant to the National Design Center of Sri Lanka and served as a visiting lecturer in the Institute of Aesthetic Studies, University of Kelaniya.[10][11] Veteran textile designer Chandra Thneuwera invited him to join her at the Institute of Aesthetic Studies while he was working as a consultant for the Ministry of Textile Industries under the guidance of Wijayapala Mendis.[12]

Political career

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Samaraweera entered politics from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party as its chief organiser in Matara in 1983. He was introduced as Khema's boy when he was appointed as SLFP's chief organiser.[13] He later became the SLFP party's Assistant Secretary and Coordinating Secretary of the Mother's Front.[14] He also served as human rights campaigner in the 1980s during when Ranasinghe Premadasa was the President of Sri Lanka.[15]

He first entered the Parliament of Sri Lanka as a representative of the Matara District in 1989, and he was appointed Minister of Post and Telecommunications in the cabinet of President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga in 1994.[16] He also served as the Minister of Urban Development, Construction and Public Utilities in the same Cabinet after a reshuffle and was later given the Deputy Minister of Finance portfolio.

Following the election defeat of his party in 2001, he was made the Chief Opposition Whip and the Treasurer of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. In 2004 he became the Minister of Ports, Aviation and Media in the new cabinet of President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga.[17]

In June 2005, after conflicts with Kumaratunga, he dropped the Media Ministry, but remained Cabinet Minister of Ports and Aviation.[18] He became the campaign manager for Presidential candidate and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse.[19] When Rajapakse won and took office in November 2005, he surprised many by appointing Samaraweera to the additional post of Foreign Minister instead of Prime Minister; Samaraweera maintained his other posts.[20]

In late January 2007, Samaraweera was replaced as Foreign Minister, but remained as Minister of Ports and Aviation.[21] On 9 February 2007, he was sacked from the cabinet together with ministers Anura Bandaranaike and Sripathi Sooriyarachchi after falling out with the then president Mahinda Rajapaksa.[22] He then went on to create a new political party, the SLFP (Mahajana) wing. Mangala later became a vocal critic of Rajapaksa family and Rajapaksa government after being ousted by Mahinda Rajapaksa from his cabinet.[23]

 
Samaraweera meets with Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire in London on 11 March 2015

In October 2013, the Matara Magistrate's Court issued a Court order to arrest him and 10 others for their alleged involvement in obstructing a peaceful protest march in Matara by UNP activists, to oust its leader Ranil Wickramasinghe.[24]

On 12 January 2015, Samaraweera was again appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs under newly elected President Maithripala Sirisena.[25][26] During the 2015 Presidential election, he played a pivotal role as a joint spokesperson of the opposition coalition candidate Maithripala Sirisena.[11][27]

After the 2019 Presidential election, Samaraweera joined the newly formed Samagi Jana Balawegaya which was launched in 2020 and led by opposition leader Sajith Premadasa.[28] Mangala was reported to have played a major role in the break up of the United National Party and also led the formation of Samagi Jana Balavegaya.[14] He resigned from the position of Finance minister as of 17 November 2019 only hours prior to release of the general election results.[29]

In June 2020, he announced that he would not contest the 2020 parliamentary election which was held on 5 August 2020 and urged the public not to vote for his preferential number and revealed that it would be impossible to remove his name from the nomination list.[30][31] On 9 June 2020, he also announced that he would step back and quit parliamentary politics.[32][33]

Controversies

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In 2019, while being the finance minister he was accused of spreading hate speech about Buddhism due to his opposition to Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism and monks urged immediate action against him for his comments about Buddhism.[34][35]

He also criticised Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith in 2018 for Ranjith's comments on human rights and, in 2019, blamed Ranjith for visiting a Buddhist monk who was fasting.[36][37][38]

He was accused of using Sri Lanka Transport Board buses to transport and locate voters for the 2019 Presidential election during his tenure as finance minister.[39]

Personal life

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He was openly homosexual.[40][41] In November 2018, after homophobic comments made by President Maithripala Sirisena, he wrote on Twitter that “I would rather be a butterfly than a leech Mr. President!!!”[42]

In May 2021, he featured in a YouTube video, "Light Upali", where he played the role of a warrior defending social media platform TikTok.[43][44]

Death

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He died on 24 August 2021 at the age of 65 due to COVID-19.[45][46][47] Prior to his death, he was admitted into the intensive care unit of the Lanka Hospital in Colombo after being tested positive for COVID-19 in August 2021.[48][49] He was diagnosed with COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated with both doses.[50] Before his death was officially confirmed on 24 August 2021, rumours of his death started circulating on social media from 18 August.[51] He was the second high-profile Sri Lankan politician to succumb to COVID-19 after W. J. M. Lokubandara.[52]

Further reading

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  • Srinivasan, Meera (24 August 2021). "Mangala Samaraweera, an advocate of liberalism, dies". The Hindu.
  • "Sri Lanka's Former Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera Dies of Covid-19". News18. 24 August 2021 – via PTI.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Parliament of Sri Lanka – Mangala Samaraweera". Official Website of Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Mangala threatened with arrest after voting for gay rights at UN | Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Former minister Mangala Samaraweera passes away". www.adaderana.lk. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  4. ^ Daily Mirror, SLFP (M) unveils ‘policy’
  5. ^ "Sri Lanka : Minister Mangala Samaraweera\'s 30 years of political life celebrated". www.colombopage.com. Archived from the original on 24 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Mangala's mistake | Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  7. ^ Srinivasan, Meera (24 August 2021). "Mangala Samaraweera, an advocate of liberalism, dies". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  8. ^ Nadeera, Dilshan. "Mangala prepares to launch new movement". Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Politicians for PRIDE: Lankan politicians stand with the LGBTQIA+ community". The Morning – Sri Lanka News. 3 July 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  10. ^ "MR. MANGALA SAMARAWEERA, 2005 – 2007 JANUARY". mfa.gov.lk. Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Archived from the original on 29 June 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  11. ^ a b "PROFILE-Sri Lanka's Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera". Reuters. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  12. ^ "Khema's Boy who 'dared to dream'". Sunday Observer. 2 March 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  13. ^ ""Khema's boy :I am A Dreamer" Speech delivered by late Mangala Samaraweera when he completed 30 years in politics". NewsWire. 24 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  14. ^ a b "Mangala steps away from Parliament, where will he go now?". EconomyNext. 14 June 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  15. ^ "Mangala's moment? | Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  16. ^ "Mangala Samaraweera decides not to contest the general election from the Matara District". Newsfirst. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  17. ^ "UPFA ready for peace says Mangala". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  18. ^ "S.Lanka to apply strict condition on post-Tsunami rebuilding – Sri Lanka". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  19. ^ "Anura: Mahinda ruining Sri Lanka". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  20. ^ "BBCSinhala.com". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  21. ^ "Sri Lankan president reshuffles cabinet", Xinhua, 29 January 2007.
  22. ^ "Sri Lanka President fires three ministers over dissent". Reuters. 9 February 2007. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  23. ^ "Sri Lanka MP quizzed over posters". BBC News. 28 September 2010. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  24. ^ "ARREST MANGALA ORDERS COURT". Dailymirror.lk. 15 October 2013. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
  25. ^ "Sri Lankan foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera to visit India". The Times of India. 13 January 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  26. ^ "Mangala's 'golden moment' in foreign policy | Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  27. ^ "Yahapalanaya's political diplomats | The Sunday Times Sri Lanka". Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  28. ^ ""We will not take a step back" ; Sajith Premadasa launches Samagi Jana Balavegaya". Sri Lanka News – Newsfirst. 2 March 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  29. ^ "Sri Lanka finance minister Mangala Samaraweera resigns". EconomyNext. 17 November 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  30. ^ "Mangala Samaraweera decides not to contest the General Election from the Matara District". Sri Lanka News – Newsfirst. 9 June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  31. ^ "Mangala steps down from Parliamentary politics: "Gotabaya is inefficient and shortsighted"". EconomyNext. 9 June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.[permanent dead link‍]
  32. ^ "Sri Lanka : Mangala Samaraweera quits parliamentary politics, not to run for election 2020". www.colombopage.com. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  33. ^ LBO (9 June 2020). "I step down from Parliamentary Election: Mangala Samaraweera". Lanka Business Online. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  34. ^ Srinivasan, Meera (19 June 2019). "Sri Lankan Finance Minister takes on Buddhist monk's racially charged comments". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  35. ^ "Racism has become a commodity today – Dambara Amila Thero". www.adaderana.lk. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  36. ^ admin (4 June 2019). "Catholic Church condemns twitter message by Mangala | Colombo Gazette". Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  37. ^ "Mangala hits out at Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith's comments on human rights". www.adaderana.lk. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  38. ^ "Cardinal seems to get it wrong: Mangala". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  39. ^ admin (14 May 2020). "Mangala questioned by CID for over five hours | Colombo Gazette". Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  40. ^ "Standing Up For The Gay Politician: Mangala Samaraweera On Right Track?". Colombo Telegraph. 8 May 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  41. ^ "WikiLeaks: Mangala Samaraweera Is Openly Homosexual – US Embassy Colombo Informed State Department". Colombo Telegraph. 22 January 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  42. ^ "Better butterfly than a leech: Mangala to Sirisena | FT Online". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  43. ^ bugsbunny (19 May 2021). "Mangala launches war to defend Tik Tok in YouTube video". Colombo Gazette. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  44. ^ "Former FM Mangala takes up acting, appears in YouTube comedy". NewsWire. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  45. ^ "Sri Lanka's former Foreign Minister Samaraweera dies of COVID-19". The Hindu. 24 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021. Sri Lanka's former Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera passed away on Tuesday at a private hospital here due to COVID-19 related complications.
  46. ^ "Mangala passes away from COVID-19 – Latest News | Daily Mirror". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  47. ^ "Mangala Samaraweera passes away". Hiru News. 24 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  48. ^ "Mangala in Covid ICU: Health update". NewsWire. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  49. ^ shanika. "Mangala Samaraweera tests positive for Covid-19". www.srilankamirror.com. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  50. ^ "Mangala Samaraweera: What our nation almost lost | Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  51. ^ "Claims over Mangala Samaraweera's death refuted". Hiru News. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  52. ^ "Sri Lanka's former Foreign Minister Samaraweera dies of COVID-19". The Hindu. PTI. 24 August 2021. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
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Government offices
Preceded by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka
2015–2017 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka
2005–2007 		Succeeded by
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