Veteran Kalutara District politician and Leader of the New Lanka Freedom Party, Kumara Welgama (74) passed away yesterday at a private hospital in Colombo.
Born on April 5, 1950, Welgama was a Member of Parliament for Kalutara from 1994 to 2024. A former Minister in the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), he became the leader of the New Lanka Freedom Party in 2020 and contested elections alongside the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).
Welgama held several key political positions, including Chief Organiser for the SLFP in the Agalawatte electorate from 1984 to 2000. He was Minister of Industrial Development from 2007 to 2010 and Minister of Transport from 2010 to 2015, during SLFP-led Governments.
Once a staunch SLFP member, Welgama broke away from the party in 2019 after supporting Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Presidential bid. Despite having helped pave the way for the Rajapaksa family’s return, he later backed SJB Presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa, with his New Lanka Freedom Party. In 2020, he joined the SJB alliance led by Premadasa for the Parliamentary election.
His body will be brought to his residence in Matugama today (September 29), where the public can pay their last respects. The funeral will take place in Matugama tomorrow (September 30). – Chamikara
