Lasantha Alagiyawanna is a Sri Lankan politician who has represented the Gampaha district in Parliament for more than two decades as a member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). First elected in 2004, he went on to hold a string of deputy ministerial and state ministerial posts — transport, road passenger transport, construction and housing, rural economic affairs, and finance and mass media — and in 2024 he was the public face of the SLFP’s decision to back President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s re-election bid. This Lasantha Alagiyawanna biography brings together the verified facts about his age, political career, and public life, along with the questions readers ask most.
Alagiyawanna is not to be confused with the journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge, the Sunday Leader editor who was assassinated in January 2009 — a different person whose name dominates many searches for “Lasantha” in Sri Lanka. The politician Alagiyawanna’s own record is a long parliamentary one: three consecutive Parliaments from 2004, preference-vote totals in the tens of thousands in Gampaha, and a reputation, in his own words, for working as a deputy minister under senior Cabinet ministers rather than chasing the top job himself.
Lasantha Alagiyawanna Wiki and Biography
| Full Name | Lasantha Alagiyawanna |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | October 19, 1967 |
| Age (as of October 2026) | 58 years old |
| Birthplace | Sri Lanka |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Ethnicity | Not publicly disclosed |
| Zodiac Sign | Libra |
| Profession | Politician |
| Political Party | Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) |
| Electoral District | Gampaha |
| Years Active | 2004–present (Parliament and ministerial office) |
| Relationship Status | Not publicly disclosed |
Lasantha Alagiyawanna Height, Weight and Body Measurements
| Height | Not publicly disclosed |
|---|---|
| Weight | Not publicly disclosed |
| Body Measurements | Not publicly disclosed |
| Eye Color | Not publicly disclosed |
| Hair Color | Not publicly disclosed |
| Shoe Size | Not publicly disclosed |
| Distinctive Features | Long-serving Gampaha parliamentarian; SLFP organiser |
As a career politician rather than a public figure in entertainment or sport, Alagiyawanna’s height, weight, and other physical details have never been published by any credible source, and this biography does not guess at them. His public profile rests entirely on his parliamentary and ministerial record.
Lasantha Alagiyawanna Career
| Profession | Politician (Sri Lanka Freedom Party) |
|---|---|
| First Elected | April 2004, to the 13th Parliament of Sri Lanka (Gampaha district) |
| Known For | Long-serving Gampaha MP; deputy and state minister across transport, housing, and finance portfolios |
| 13th Parliament (2004–2010) | 86,550 preference votes; Deputy Minister of Transport; Non-Cabinet Minister of Road Passenger Transport |
| 14th Parliament (2010–2015) | 65,939 preference votes; Deputy Minister of Construction, Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities; Deputy Minister of Rural Economic Affairs |
| 15th Parliament (2015–2020) | Gampaha district; Deputy Minister of Finance and Mass Media |
| Later Role | State Minister for Transport (2024); announced SLFP support for President Ranil Wickremesinghe |
| Milestones | Deputy minister continuously since 2004; SLFP spokesman on the 2024 presidential election |
Alagiyawanna entered Parliament at the April 2004 general election, winning a seat for Gampaha under the Sri Lanka Freedom Party within the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA). He polled 86,550 preference votes, and his first ministerial appointment followed quickly: Deputy Minister of Transport from 2004, later becoming Non-Cabinet Minister of Road Passenger Transport from 2007. Transport would remain the thread running through his career.
Re-elected to the 14th Parliament in April 2010 with 65,939 preference votes, he served as Deputy Minister of Construction, Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities from 2010 to 2015, and then as Deputy Minister of Rural Economic Affairs in 2015. In the 15th Parliament he again represented Gampaha, and by 2017 he was Deputy Minister of Finance and Mass Media, working under Minister Mangala Samaraweera. In an interview that year he was frank about his career path — “I always became a Deputy Minister under the best Cabinet Ministers. It is a privilege to work for Minister Mangala Samaraweera” — and about his party’s constitutional position, saying the SLFP supported devolution of power provided the unitary status of the country was safeguarded and the Executive Presidency retained.
His loyalty to the SLFP through Sri Lanka’s shifting coalitions was tested after the January 2015 presidential election, when he moved from the Rajapaksa camp to the new government. Asked in the same 2017 interview whether that move had been a mistake, he answered no: “We will always be with the SLFP. We worked for President Mahinda Rajapaksa in two ways. One, to be honest, we toiled to make him win. The other thing is he did not lose a single vote because of us.”
In August 2024, as State Minister for Transport, Alagiyawanna became the SLFP’s public voice in the presidential election, announcing that the party had officially decided to support President Ranil Wickremesinghe, with 90 percent of its executive council and a majority of its MPs behind the decision. At a Presidential Media Centre briefing titled “Collective Path to a Stable Country,” he also spoke about the transport sector’s environmental impact, noting that smoke certificates were being issued to maintain air quality and reduce lung-related disease — a detail that brought his long transport brief full circle.
Lasantha Alagiyawanna Net Worth
| Estimated Net Worth (2026) | Not publicly disclosed |
|---|---|
| Income Sources | Parliamentary salary and ministerial allowances |
Alagiyawanna has never publicly disclosed his personal wealth, and no credible financial source publishes a verified net worth figure for him. His income has come from his parliamentary salary and the allowances attached to his deputy ministerial and state ministerial offices. Any specific net worth number circulating online for Alagiyawanna should be treated as speculation, not fact.
10 Interesting Facts About Lasantha Alagiyawanna
- Lasantha Alagiyawanna was born on October 19, 1967, making him 58 years old as of October 2026.
- He has represented the Gampaha district in Sri Lanka’s Parliament since 2004.
- He is a member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), contesting within the United People’s Freedom Alliance.
- At his first election in 2004 he polled 86,550 preference votes in Gampaha.
- He has been a deputy minister continuously since 2004 — a run of more than two decades in junior ministerial office.
- His first portfolio was transport, as Deputy Minister of Transport from 2004, later rising to Non-Cabinet Minister of Road Passenger Transport.
- In the 2010–2015 Parliament he held the construction, engineering services, housing and common amenities portfolio.
- By 2017 he was Deputy Minister of Finance and Mass Media, working under Minister Mangala Samaraweera.
- He is a different person from the assassinated journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge, despite the shared first name.
- In August 2024, as State Minister for Transport, he announced the SLFP’s decision to support President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s re-election, backed by 90 percent of the party’s executive council.
Early Life and Political Beginnings
Public records confirm Alagiyawanna’s date of birth and his Gampaha base, but little is published about his childhood, education, or life before Parliament, and this biography does not invent that background. What is documented is a political career built the traditional SLFP way: a district organisation, preference votes earned election after election in Gampaha — one of Sri Lanka’s largest electoral districts — and steady junior ministerial service across governments of different colours, always within the SLFP fold.
Conclusion
Lasantha Alagiyawanna’s career is a study in political longevity. From his first election in 2004 through three Parliaments and a succession of portfolios — transport, housing, rural affairs, finance and media — he has remained a Gampaha fixture and an SLFP loyalist, content, by his own account, to serve as a deputy under senior ministers. At 58, and still speaking for his party on the national stage as recently as the 2024 presidential election, he remains one of the longer-serving figures in Sri Lankan parliamentary politics.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Lasantha Alagiyawanna?
He is a Sri Lankan politician of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party who has represented the Gampaha district in Parliament since 2004 and held several deputy and state ministerial posts.
How old is Lasantha Alagiyawanna?
He was born on October 19, 1967, which makes him 58 years old as of October 2026.
Is Lasantha Alagiyawanna the journalist who was assassinated?
No. That was Lasantha Wickrematunge, editor of the Sunday Leader, who was assassinated in January 2009. Alagiyawanna is a different person — a politician, not a journalist.
Which party does Lasantha Alagiyawanna belong to?
He belongs to the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), and contested elections within the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA).
Which district does he represent?
He represents the Gampaha electoral district.
When was he first elected to Parliament?
He was first elected at the April 2004 general election, to the 13th Parliament of Sri Lanka, with 86,550 preference votes.
What ministerial posts has he held?
Deputy Minister of Transport, Non-Cabinet Minister of Road Passenger Transport, Deputy Minister of Construction, Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities, Deputy Minister of Rural Economic Affairs, Deputy Minister of Finance and Mass Media, and State Minister for Transport.
What did he say about the SLFP and devolution?
In a 2017 interview he said the SLFP supports devolution of power, provided the unitary status of the country is safeguarded and the Executive Presidency is retained.
What was his role in the 2024 presidential election?
As State Minister for Transport, he announced in August 2024 that the SLFP had decided to support President Ranil Wickremesinghe, with 90 percent of its executive council in favour.
What is Lasantha Alagiyawanna’s net worth?
His net worth has not been publicly disclosed. His income has come from his parliamentary salary and ministerial allowances.
Last Updated: October 2026 | Fact-checked by the Xposed editorial team