Sri Lanka’s former foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera passed away on Tuesday at a private hospital here due to COVID-19 related complications.

Samaraweera, 65, contracted the virus earlier this month and was admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) of the Lanka Hospital.

Samaraweera, who was Sri Lanka’s foreign minister twice between 2005 and 2007 and from 2015-2017, was the second highest ranking Sri Lankan politician to succumb to coronavirus after the death of former parliamentary speaker WJM Lokubandara.

A proponent of liberal democratic politics, Samaraweera held many senior Cabinet positions since 1994, including the ministry of finance.

He stepped down from politics last year.