His Excellency Mahinda Buddhadasa Samarasinghe ( si, මහින්ද සමරසිංහ), (born 30 January 1956) is a former MP and the current Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and High Commissioner to

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

. He was formerly a member of Parliament under Gotabaya Rajapaksa's Government, and the

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna The Sri Lanka People's Front ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණ, translit=Śrī Laṃkā Podujana Peramuna; ta, இலங்கை பொதுஜன முன்னணி, translit=Ilaṅkai Potujaṉa Mu� ...

chief organiser for the

Panadura Panadura ( si, පානදුර, translit=Pānadura; ta, பாணந்துறை, translit=Pāṇantuṟai) is a city in Kalutara District, Western Province in Sri Lanka. It is located approximately south of Colombo and is surrounded on a ...

Electorate in the

Kalutara Kalutara ( si, කළුතර, ta, களுத்துறை) or Kalutota is a major city in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is also the administrative capital of Kalutara District. It is located approximately south o ...

District.

Education

Mahinda Samarasinghe completed a

Bachelor of Economics The Bachelor of Economics (BEc or BEcon), or the "Bachelor of Applied Economics", is a bachelor's degree awarded by many universities and colleges for completion of an undergraduate program in economics, econometrics, or applied economics; the ...

(Honours) degree at

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria an ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Diplomatic career

Having joined the

Sri Lanka Overseas Service The Sri Lanka Overseas Service (SLOS) ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා විදේශ සේවය; śrī laṁkā vidēśa sēvaya) which is most commonly referred to as the ''Sri Lanka Foreign Service'' is the foreign service of Sri Lanka ...

, he served as the First Secretary to the Sri Lanka High Commission in

and as

Counselor Counselor or counsellor may refer to: A professional In diplomacy and government * Counsellor of State, senior member of the British royal family to whom the Monarch can delegate some functions in case of unavailability * Counselor (di ...

for the Sri Lankan Permanent Mission to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

in Geneva during the 1980s. He has represented Sri Lanka at the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

International Telecommunication Union The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...

and the

World Meteorological Organisation The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology and geophysics. The WMO originated from the Internatio ...

. While working at the Sri Lanka Mission in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, he represented Sri Lanka at almost all of the Governing Body meetings of the

in 1986 and 1987, as well as the

International Labour Conference The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and ol ...

from 1985 to 1987. At the end of the 1987 ILC, he successfully presented a draft resolution on ‘Workers Housing,' which was adopted at the conference. In late 2021, Samarasinghe was appointed as Sri Lanka's Ambassador to the United States, Mexico and Trinidad & Tobago.

Human rights

As co-chair of the Permanent Standing Committee on Human Rights in Sri Lanka, Samarasinghe works in close cooperation with several UN Organisations including the

United Nations Human Rights Commission The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) was a functional commission within the overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006. It was a subsidiary body of t ...

(UNHRC),

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...

(UNICEF) and International Labour Organization, as well as other international organizations such as the

International Organisation for Migration The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations agency that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers. The IOM was ...

to continue Sri Lanka's endeavors to rehabilitate and reintegrate citizens from the country's formerly war-torn areas. He also acted as a member of the Advisory Committee to the Human rights task force of Sri Lanka while being the Executive member of the parliamentary group for the protection and promotion of human rights. From 2002-2004, Samarasinghe was the Chair of the Parliamentary Select Committee to review the mandate and functioning of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka. He also chaired national coordination mechanisms on human rights and humanitarian assistance during the armed conflict, from 2006 - 2009. In 2006, Mahinda Samarasinghe was offered a position to handle the Disaster Management & Human Rights portfolio by the then Sri Lankan 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 ...

. As the leader of the Sri Lankan Delegation to the

UN Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...

(Special and Regular Sessions) up to 2014, Samarasinghe was also responsible for formulating national reports for the

Universal Periodic Review The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a mechanism of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (HRC) that emerged from the 2005 UN reform process.resolution 60/251of 3 April 2006, the UPR periodically examines the human rights performance of all ...

of Sri Lanka in both 2008 and 2012.

Political career

Samarasinghe entered active politics in 1988 and was elected to the Provincial Council of the

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: * Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provin ...

, where he served as the Leader of the House of the Provincial Council and the Provincial Minister of Health and Economic Infrastructure. During his tenure, he took the initiative to establish the Road Passenger Transport Authority and the Provincial Road Development Authority. In 1994 he was elected to parliament from the

Kalutara district Kalutara District ( si, කළුතර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය; ta, களுத்துறை மாவட்டம் ''Kaḷuttuṟai Māvaṭṭam'') is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative ...

, and was re-elected in subsequent elections held in 2000, 2001, 2004, 2010, 2015 and 2020. During the period 2001 - 2004, he served as the Cabinet Minister of Employment and Labour. UNF cabinet reshuffled after five postponements
Tamil Net, Retrieved on 28 February 2002. He was the Government

Chief Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom ...

from 2001–2004 and the Opposition Chief Whip from 2004 - 2006. Samarasinghe joined the

Sri Lanka Freedom Party The Sri Lanka Freedom Party ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂය, translit=Śrī Laṁkā Nidahas Pakṣaya; ta, இலங்கை சுதந்திரக் கட்சி, translit=Ilaṅkai Cutantirak Ka� ...

in 2006 and was the Sri Lanka Freedom Party chief organiser for the Agalawatta Electorate in Kalutara District. He had also served as Cabinet Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights from 2006 - 2010 and Minister of Plantation Industries from 2010 - 2015. He was a member in the Parliamentary Consultative Committees of the Ministries of Trade, Commerce, Industries, Finance and Foreign Affairs. In 2015, under the government of former president Maithripala Sirisena, Samarasinghe was appointed as the State Minister for Finance. In 2016, Samarasinghe was selected to be the Chair of the Parliamentary Sub-Committee on Fundamental Rights, Language and Citizenship Rights, Steering Committee on Constitutional Reform. He was then appointed as the Ports and Shipping Minister in 2017. Mahinda Samarasinghe resigned from his seat in parliament in late November 2021 to take up a new post as the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the

and Trinidad & Tobago.

Personal life

Samarasinghe’s mother is Yvonne Senevirathne. He is married and has four children. Australia

References

Sources

Address by Hon. Mahinda Samarasinghe at the First Session of the Human Rights Council – Geneva - 19 June 2006Panos South Asia at the International Conference on Disaster research & Ethics in Colombo, Sri LankaLanka to raise UN HR Commissioner’s partiality - Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe

External links

Ministry of Plantation IndustriesSri Lanka Parliament profileHot Seat, Interview with Human Rights Minister Hon.Mahinda Samarasinghe Statement made by Hon.Mahinda Samarasinghe at the UN Human Rights Council Special Session on Sri Lanka on 26 May 2009 in Geneva Comments and answers by Hon.Mahinda Samarasinghe at UN Human Rights Council in GenevaMahinda Samarasinghe resigns as MP; heads to Washington as Ambassador
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samarasinghe, Mahinda Living people Sinhalese civil servants Sri Lankan diplomats Government ministers of Sri Lanka Sinhalese politicians Sri Lankan Buddhists La Trobe University alumni 1956 births Members of the 10th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 11th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 12th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 13th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 14th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 15th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka Provincial councillors of Sri Lanka Chief Government Whips (Sri Lanka) Shipping ministers of Sri Lanka