Background
Samaraweera is the son of Mahanama Samaraweera, who was a Cabinet Minister of Local Government, Housing, Posts and Telecommunications in Sirimavo Bandaranaike"s government, and Khema Samaraweera, a member of the Matara Urban Council.
Samaraweera is the son of Mahanama Samaraweera, who was a Cabinet Minister of Local Government, Housing, Posts and Telecommunications in Sirimavo Bandaranaike"s government, and Khema Samaraweera, a member of the Matara Urban Council.
Saint Martin"s School of Artist Royal College, Colombo.
He previously held that post from 2005 to 2007. A graduate in Clothing Design and Technology from Saint Martin"s School of Art in London, he served as a design consultant to the National Design Center of Sri Lanka prior to his political career. He first entered the Parliament of Sri Lanka as a representative of the Matara District in 1989, and he was appointed as Minister of Post & Telecommunications in the cabinet of President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga in 1994.
He also served as the Minister of Urban Development, Construction and Public Utilities in the same Cabinet after a reshuffle and was later given the Deputy Minister of Finance portfolio.
Following the election defeat of his party in 2001, he was made the Chief Opposition Whip and the Treasurer of the SLFP. In 2004 he became the Minister of Ports, Aviation and Media in the new cabinet of President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. In June 2005, after conflicts with Kumaratunga, he dropped the Media Ministry, but remained Cabinet Minister of Ports and Aviation.
He became the campaign manager for Presidential candidate and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse. In late January 2007 Samaraweera was replaced as Foreign Minister, but remained Minister of Ports and Aviation.
On 9 February 2007, he was sacked from the cabinet together with ministers Anura Bandaranaike and Sripathi Sooriyarachchi after falling out with the president
In October 2013, the Matara Magistrate"s Court issued a Court order to arrest him and 10 others for their alleged involvement in obstructing a peaceful protest march in Matara by UNP activists, to oust its leader Ranil Wickramasinghe. On 12 January 2015 Samaraweera was again appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs under newly elected President Maithripala Sirisena.
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 merged into the United National Party in 2010. He was the Sri Lanka Freedom Party"s chief organizer for the southern city Matara beginning in 1983 and Assistant Secretary of the SLFP Coordinating Secretary of the Mother’s Front. He then went on to create a new political party, the SLFP (Mahajana) wing.