DEMISE OF MANGALA SAMARAWEERA – OUTSPOKEN MATARA DISTRICT MAVERICK POLITICIAN & FORMER MINISTER By: Upali Obeyesekere – With files from International Media Mangala samaraweera News has reached us that Mangala Samaraweera has passed away today. Sri Lanka’s former finance minister Mangala Samaraweera passed away Tuesday in hospital where he was being treated for Coronavirus. According to hospital sources, he was receiving care in the intensive care unit for several days and was responding well. However, he suffered a cardiac arrest on Monday night and suffered another cardiac arrest on Tuesday morning. He was put on the ventilator but succumbed to the virus. The 65-year-old Samaraweera contracted the virus earlier this month and was receiving intensive care unit (ICU) treatment at the Lanka Hospital, despite being fully vaccinated. He was the second highest ranking Sri Lankan politician to succumb to coronavirus after the death of former parliamentary Speaker WJM Lokubandara. An ...