Mahinda Rajapaksa. As the leader of the Sri Lankan Delegation to the UN Human Rights Council (Special and Regular Sessions) up to 2014, Samarasinghe was also responsible for formulating national reports for the Universal Periodic Review 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, 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, 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. He was the Government Chief Whip from 2001–2004 and the Opposition Chief Whip from 2004 - 2006. Samarasinghe joined the Sri Lanka Freedom Party 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 United States of America, Mexico and Trinidad & Tobago. Personal life Samarasinghe’s mother is Yvonne Senevirathne. He is married and has four children. See also Cabinet of Sri Lanka References Sources Address by Hon. Mahinda Samarasinghe at the First Session of the Human Rights Council – Geneva - 19 June 2006 Sri Lanka: New rulers have bloody past Panos South Asia at the International Conference on Disaster research & Ethics in Colombo, Sri Lanka Lanka to raise UN HR Commissioner’s partiality - Minister