Kumara Welgama
කුමාර වෙල්ගම
குமார வெல்கம
Leader of the New Lanka Freedom Party
Assumed office
6 March 2020
Minister of Transport
In office
2010  9 January 2015
Minister of Industrial Development
In office
2007–2010
Deputy Minister of Power & Energy
In office
2004–2007
Deputy Minister of Transport
In office
2000–2001
Member of Parliament
for Kalutara District
Assumed office
1994
Personal details
Born (1950-04-05) 5 April 1950
Political partyNew Lanka Freedom Party (since 2019)
Sri Lanka Freedom Party (before 2019)
Other political
affiliations
Samagi Jana Balawegaya
Residence(s)101A Manning Place, Colombo
Alma materSt Thomas' College

Kumara Welgama (Sinhala: කුමාර වෙල්ගම) (born 5 April 1950) is a Sri Lankan politician and a current member of parliament for the Kalutara District.[1] Welgama had been a minister of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party in the past. Since 2020, he has been the leader of the New Lanka Freedom Party and contested elections with the Samagi Jana Balawegaya.

Welgama was the chief organiser for the Sri Lanka Freedom Party in the Agalawatte electorate between 1984 and 2000. Welgamaa was the Minister of Industrial Development from 2007 to 2010 and the Minister of Transportation from 2010 to early 2015 in governments led by the SLFP.

Welgama had been a member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party until 2019, when he defected from the party after it supported the presidential candidacy of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, paving the way for the return of the Rajapaksa family. He supported UNP candidate Sajith Premadasa instead[2][3] and founded a new party named New Lanka Freedom Party, which joined the Samagi Jana Balawegaya alliance led by Sajith Premadasa to run for the 2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election.[4]

References

  1. "Hon. Kumara Welgama, M.P." Directory of Members. Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  2. "CBK And Welgama Decide To Support Sajith Premadasa And Samagi Jana Balawegaya At Upcoming Parliamentary Election". Asian Mirror. Archived from the original on 8 March 2020.
  3. "Kumara Welgama pledges support to Sajith". The Morning. 12 March 2020.
  4. "Kumara Welgama's new political party joins Samagi Jana Balawegaya". Colombo Gazette. 12 March 2020.


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