Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena (born 10 October 1945) 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 landed proprietor. He is the current Speaker of the Sri Lankan Parliament.

Political career

He first entered parliament in 1983 as the Hakmana

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), ...

and has been active in politics for more than 30 years. Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena was a young MP when he openly criticised the 1987

Indo-Sri Lanka Accord The Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord was an accord signed in Colombo on 29 July 1987, between Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President J. R. Jayewardene. The accord was expected to resolve the Sri Lankan Civil War by enabling th ...

for a new provincial councils system to be established in Sri Lanka. He along with Chandrakumara Wijeya Gunawardena, the member for Kamburupitiya voted against the bill in Parliament becoming the only two government members who voted against it. He was later removed by the then President

J. R. Jayewardene Junius Richard Jayewardene ( si, ජුනියස් රිචඩ් ජයවර්ධන, ta, ஜூனியஸ் ரிச்சட் ஜயவர்தனா; 17 September 1906 – 1 November 1996), commonly abbreviated in Sri Lanka as ...

from his Parliamentary seat for violation of the party rules by not voting for the bill. He later joined hands with

Gamini Dissanayake Dissanayake Mudiyanse Ralahamilage Lionel Gamini Dissanayake, PC (known as Gamini Dissanayake; si, ලයනල් ගාමිණි දිසානායක, ta, காமினி திஸாநாயக்க; 20 March 1942 – 24 Octob ...

and

Lalith Athulathmudali Lalith William Samarasekera Athulathmudali, PC (; 26 November 1936 – 23 April 1993), known as Lalith Athulathmudali, was a Sri Lankan statesman. He was a prominent member of the United National Party, who served as Minister of Trade and Sh ...

(who were also against the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord) as they too quit

and formed the

Democratic United National Front The Democratic United National Front ( si, ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී එක්සත් ජාතික පෙරමුණ, pronounced ''Prajathanthrvadi Eksath Jathika Peramuna'', ta, ஜனநாயக ஐக்க� ...

or aka 'Rajaliya-front'. Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena then contested for Southern Provincial Council under DUNF and won. He was then elected as the opposition leader of the Southern Provincial Council in 1993, and he became the Chief Minister of the Southern Provincial Council in 1994. Elected twice as the Chief Minister he was in office from 1994 to 2001. He is said to be one of the most successful Chief Ministers from the south for developing the infrastructures that were neglected for more than 5 years due to the dark era of the country. He left office to contest in the 2001 general elections and become an opposition MP and served until 2004. After the 2004 General elections, he became the Deputy Minister of Healthcare and later the Cabinet Minister for Cultural Affairs & National Heritage. After the 2010 General Elections, he was appointed as the Minister of Agriculture. Having been in office as the Minister of Agriculture for several years he was elected Vice Chairman at the 38th session of the

Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

FAO Conference held in

Rome, Italy , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg ...

in 2013. He was again appointed as the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs in 2015 for a brief period until he resigned and joined the opposition. He is a representative of

Matara District Matara ( si, මාතර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය ''Mātara distrikkaya''; ta, மாத்தறை மாவட்டம் ''Māttaṛai māvaṭṭam'') is a district in Southern Province, Sri Lanka. It is one of 25 districts ...

for the

United People's Freedom Alliance The United People's Freedom Alliance (abbreviated UPFA; si, එක්සත් ජනතා නිදහස් සන්ධානය ''Eksath Janathā Nidahas Sandānaya''; ta, ஐக்கிய மக்கள் சுதந்திரக� ...

in the

Parliament of Sri Lanka The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා පාර්ලිමේන්තුව ''Shri Lanka Parlimenthuwa'', Tamil: இலங்கை நாடாளுமன்றம் ''Ila� ...

. He resides in

Kalubowila Kalubowila is a suburb in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is inside the administration boundary of the Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council. The Colombo South Teaching Hospital The Colombo South Teaching Hospital (also called Kalubowila Hospital) is ...

Dehiwala Dehiwala is a suburban area in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It lies within the administrative boundaries of Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council. It is known for the zoo which houses thousands of animals and hundreds of species. 2019 Easter Sunday a ...

References

External links

Political career

See also

References

External links