Gamini Kulawansa Lokuge (born 8 May 1943 in

Piliyandala Piliyandala ( si, පිළියන්දල, ta, பிலியந்தலை) is a suburb in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is situated approximately south of Colombo. Piliyandala clock tower According to local residents and documentation, Pi ...

) is a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

n politician and a former Cabinet Minister.

Early life

Lokuge was born on 8 May 1943 in

to middle-class parents. He received his primary education in Piliyandala and completed his higher education at

Piliyandala Central College Piliyandala Central College ( si, පිලියන්දල මධ්‍ය මහා විද්‍යාලය; ta, பிலியன்தல மத்திய வித்தியாலயம்) is a selective entry mixed-gender sch ...

Political career

Lokuge entered politics in 1960 as a member of the

United National Party The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...

(UNP). His first national campaign was in 1983, when he was elected by a clear majority to represent the Kesbewa Electoral District. He served as Minister of Tourism in the UNP governments of 1989 and 2002. In 2006, he joined the government of President

Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...

after having personal issues with

Ranil Wickremesinghe Ranil Wickremesinghe ( si, රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ, ta, ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்க; born 24 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician who is the current president of Sri Lanka since 21 July 2 ...

. In January 2007, Lokuge was appointed to the Ministry of Sports and Public Recreation. He was re-elected in 2010 and 2015. On 27 November 2019 he was appointed as State Minister for Urban Development. On 12 August 2020, he was appointed as the Cabinet Minister of Transport Lokuge was appointed to the Legislative Standing Committee in February 2020.

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