Lakshman Bandara Kiriella, (born 2 February 1948) is a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

n politician and

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

. He is a former Member of Parliament from the

Kandy District Kandy District (, ) is a district of the Central Province of Sri Lanka. Its area is 1,940 km2 (750 sq mi). Administrative divisions Ethnic groups and religion Major cities Suburbs of city of Kandy * Peradeniya * Katugasto ...

and former Leader of the House of the Parliament. He has also held office as Minister of Public Enterprises and Kandy Development and as Minister of Higher Education and Highways from 2015 to 2019. Educated at

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo also known as; Royal Colombo, Colombo Royal College or Colombo Royal) is a Single-sex education, boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started by Joseph Marsh (priest), Joseph Mar ...

and

Sri Lanka Law College Sri Lanka Law College (abbreviated as SLLC), formerly known as Ceylon Law College, is a law college, and the only legal institution where one can enrol as an Attorney-at-Law in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1874, under the then Council of Le ...

, he became a practicing lawyer before entering politics. He has elected to Parliament in 1989, he has been a Member ever since. He has served as the Minister of Tourism and Sports and the Deputy minister of Foreign Affairs. In 2015, he was appointed as the Leader of the House of the

United National Party The United National Party (UNP; , ) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right political party in Sri Lanka. Founded in 1946, the party was one of Sri Lanka's two main parties for several decades. The UNP has served as the country's ruling party ...

government led by Prime Minister

Ranil Wickremesinghe Ranil Wickremesinghe (; ; born 24 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the ninth president of Sri Lanka from 2022 to 2024. He has also served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 1993–1994, 2001–2004, 2015–2018, 2018-2019 a ...

. He is married to Charmaine Jayawardena and they have two daughters, Kishanee and Chamindrani Kiriella, and one son, Dinuk L. B. In October 2018, the Asgiriya Chapter of Siam Nikaya conferred the title of Shasanamamaka Jana Prasadini on Kiriella, in recognition of his service to Buddhism and society.

Controversies

Central Expressway Construction

Central expressway of Sri Lanka (E04 expressway) planned to construct in four phases to link Kadawatha to

Kandy Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of ...

. However, the construction of phase one and phase three were delayed as Chinese and Japanese loans weren't receiving on time. Phase two of the project (

Mirigama Mirigama (also spelled Meerigama) (; ) is a suburb in Gampaha District, Sri Lanka. It is located from Colombo, from Kurunegala and from Negombo. Mirigama is the hometown of Sri Lanka's first Prime Minister, D. S. Senanayake and former speake ...

to Katugastota) funded by the Sri Lankan government and construction carrying out by local constructors. There are some allegations that phase two construction carrying out by companies attached to Kiriella.

COPE A cope ( ("rain coat") or ("cape")) is a liturgical long mantle or cloak, open at the front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour. A cope may be worn by any rank of the Catholic or Anglican clerg ...

decided to investigate tender procedure of central expressway project due to allegations of misappropriation of public funds. And MP.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake Anura Kumara Dissanayake (born 24 November 1968), commonly referred to by his initials AKD, is a Sri Lankan politician who has been the tenth and current president of Sri Lanka since 2024. Dissanayake is the first Sri Lankan president to be ele ...

mentioned in parliament recalling a statement by former president

Maithripala Sirisena Maithripala Yapa Sirisena (; ; born 3 September 1951) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the seventh president of Sri Lanka from 9 January 2015 to 18 November 2019. Sirisena is Sri Lanka's first president from the North Central Province, S ...

that tender procedures has been violated while offering contracts. Responding to media, minister of parliament Wimal Weerawansa blamed that former minister Kiriella and his daughter converted central expressway project into their money making venture.

Recruiting Political Supporters to RDA

Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) probing corruption in good governance (Yahapalana) government conducted inquiry on backdoor appointments given by former minister to UNP supporters. He was accused for recruiting UMP members as public liaison officers and consultants to the

Road Development Authority The Road Development Authority (commonly abbreviated as RDA); (; ) is the premier highway authority in Sri Lanka and is responsible for the maintenance and development of the National Highway Network, comprising the trunk (List of A-Grade highways ...

(RDA) without conducting interviews, checking qualifications and assigning duties. Former minister denied allegations that those recruitments cost Rs. 62.87 million to government.

References

External links

Biographies of Member of Parliament
Sports ministers of Sri Lanka Samagi Jana Balawegaya politicians United National Party politicians Sri Lankan Buddhists Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Alumni of Sri Lanka Law College Members of the 9th Parliament of Sri Lanka 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 Living people 1948 births Higher education ministers of Sri Lanka {{CentralLK-politician-stub