Mangala Pinsiri Samaraweera (Sinhala: මංගල පින්සිරි සමරවීර, Tamil: மங்கள சமரவீர; pronounced[mˈʌŋgɘlɘpinsirisˈʌmɘrɘviːrɘ] 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]
^"Parliament of Sri Lanka – Mangala Samaraweera". Official Website of Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
^"Mangala threatened with arrest after voting for gay rights at UN | Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
^"Former minister Mangala Samaraweera passes away". www.adaderana.lk. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
^Daily Mirror, SLFP (M) unveils ‘policy’
^"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.
^"Mangala's mistake | Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
^Srinivasan, Meera (24 August 2021). "Mangala Samaraweera, an advocate of liberalism, dies". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
^Nadeera, Dilshan. "Mangala prepares to launch new movement". Retrieved 24 August 2021.
^"Politicians for PRIDE: Lankan politicians stand with the LGBTQIA+ community". The Morning – Sri Lanka News. 3 July 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
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