Mahinda Wijesekara

Hon. Mahinda Wijesekera
මහින්ද විජේසේකර மஹிந்த விஜேசேகர
Member of Parliament for Matara District
In office 1989–2010
Deputy Minister of Ports, Shipping, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction
In office 1994–1997
Deputy Minister of Housing and Urban Development
In office 1997–1999
Minister of Forestry and Environment
In office 1999–2001
Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Resources
In office 2001–2004
Minister of Special Projects
In office 2007–2008
Minister of Postal and Telecommunication
In office 2008–2010
Personal details
Born	(1942-09-21)21 September 1942 Devinuwara, British Ceylon
Died	2 April 2026(2026-04-02) (aged 83)
Party	Sri Lanka Freedom Party
Other political affiliations	United People's Freedom Alliance
Relations	Nimal Wijesekera - Brother
Children	Kanchana Wijesekera
Alma mater	St. Servatius' College Jayawardanepura Vidyodaya University, Sri Lanka Law College
Profession	Lawyer

Mahinda Wijesekera (Sinhala: මහින්ද විජේසේකර, Tamil: மஹிந்த விஜேசேகர; 21 September 1942 – 2 April 2026) was a Sri Lankan politician who served as a cabinet minister. He was also a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka for five terms, from 1989 to 2010.

Life and career

Wijesekara was born in Devinuwara, British Ceylon on 21 September 1942.

In 2001, Wijesekara left the President Chandrika Kumaratunga's ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party and joined United National Party along with few other senior ministers of the government such as S. B. Dissanayake and G. L. Peiris. He was a member of the working committee of UNP and the party organiser for Weligama. However, in 2006 UNP leader Ranil Wickramasinghe removed him from all of his positions in the party as a result of internal crisis against the leadership. On 2007, Wijesekara again crossed over to United People's Freedom Alliance government. He was the Telecommunications Minister in the government. He was injured in a suicide bombing in 2009.

Wijesekara died on 2 April 2026, at the age of 83, following a prolonged illness.