Minister of Development Assignments Tilak Marapana has been sworn in as the new Minister of Foreign Affairs before President Maithripala Sirisena, a short while ago.

He was appointed to the position which was left vacant following the resignation of Ravi Karunanayake over allegations leveled against him over the Central Bank treasury bond scam.

Marapana was appointed as the Development Assignments Minister during a cabinet reshuffle on May 22, 2017.

He had previously served as Minister of Law and Order and Prison Reforms before officially resigning from the position on November 9, 2015 in connection with the Avant Garde floating armoury issue.

Marapana, President’s Counsel is a former Attorney General who retired prematurely with the change of Govt in 1994. He thereafter practiced in the unofficial bar and enjoyed an extensive and lucrative practice when in 2001 was a appointed the Minister of Defence in the UNP Govt headed by Mr. Ranil Wickramasinghe.

Later, with the demise of Mr. Gamini Atukorale he was also appointed the Minister of Highways, Transport and Civil Aviation.

In 2015, following the last Gen Election, Mr. Marapana was appointed as the Minister of Law and Order. Consequent to a speech made by him in Parliament in which he explained the use of firearms stored in a ship chartered by Avant Garde and following allegations that he could interfere in the ongoing investigations against the Avant Garde Company, he resigned from his portfolio until the conclusion of these investigations.

In May this year Mr. Marapana was once again appointed to the cabinet as the Minister of Development Assignments, a new ministry set up to monitor all ongoing development projects both foreign and local.

Mr. Marapana as the Attorney General led the Sri Lanka Delegation to the United Nations Human Right Commission in Geneva on successive sessions from 1992 to 1994 and successfully overcame the passing of a resolution against Sri Lanka on Human Rights issues.