Career
He is the Minister of Agriculture, Sri Lanka. He first entered parliament in 1983 and has been active in politics for more than 30 years. Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana was 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 1994–2003, until he became the deputy minister of Healthcare.
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 (Food and Agriculture Organization) Conference held in Rome, Italy in 2013. He resides in Kalubowila, Dehiwala.