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Goonewardena met [[Vivienne Goonatilleka]], niece of leading leftist politician [[Philip Gunawardena]], at a political meeting.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kurukularatne|first=Buddhika|title=Vivienne – The making of a rebel|url=http://www.island.lk/2006/04/23/features9.html|newspaper=[[The Island (Sri Lanka)|The Island]]|date=23 April 2006}}</ref> They fell in love but Vivienne's father was against the relationship because Goonewardena was a [[Christianity in Sri Lanka|Christian]] and from the minority [[Karava]] [[Sri Lankan caste system|caste]], misconstrued to be 'lower'.<ref>{{cite book|last=Jayawardena|first=Kumari|title=Socialist Women of Sri Lanka|year=2006|publisher=Young Socialist Publications|location=Colombo|isbn=955-9150-06-5|page=55|url=http://www.noolaham.org/wiki/index.php/Socialist_Women_of_Sri_Lanka|chapter=Vivienne Goonewardene – 'La Pasionaria' of Sri Lanka|editor1-last=Muthiah|editor1-first=Wesley S.|editor2-last=Thiruchandran|editor2-first=Selvy|editor3-last=Wanasinghe|editor3-first=Sydney}}</ref> She was kept a virtual prisoner at home and Goonewardena was forced at file a [[habeas corpus]] writ to get her released.<ref name=Memories>{{cite news|last=Kurukularatne|first=Buddhika|title=Men and Memories: ‘Vivi’ — the ‘rebel’ is made|url=http://www.island.lk/2006/05/07/features3.html|newspaper=[[The Island (Sri Lanka)|The Island]]|date=7 May 2006}}</ref> The couple were married on 30 January 1939.<ref name=Gunawardena/>
Though, in adulthood Goonewardene did not have any religious beliefs, as a boy he was influenced by the ideas of [[John Wesley]]. The Methodists had played a prominent role, both locally and internationally, in the campaign to abolish slavery,<ref>[http://richmondcollege.org/arrival-1814.html#, Missionary Arrival 1814, Richmond College Website]</ref> make education more accessible,<ref>[[List of the oldest schools in Sri Lanka]]</ref> the [[Temperance Movement]]<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=gnbcmHrFF7MC&pg=PA137&lpg=PA137&dq=Anti-TB+Institute+at+Ragama&source=bl&ots=VLs_Hu7HXs&sig=ss8h-ePMMFcalOtkj8ipH1bKHJQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=r6W7VNW8HM_1auCMgNgK&ved=0CCEQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Christian%20organisations&f=false Health Policy in Britain's Model Colony: Ceylon, 1900-1948] - Margaret Jones, p. 41 (Orient Blackswan Private Limited) ASIN: B00ECYFXNE</ref> (before it caught on with local politicians) and among other things to inspire many great men including [[Nelson Mandela]].<ref>[http://africanhistory.about.com/od/mandelanelson/a/bio_mandela.htm Biography: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Former president of South Africa and world acclaimed international statesman By Alistair Boddy-Evans]</ref><ref>[http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?id=3685 Address by President Nelson Mandela to the Annual Conference of the Methodist Church on the AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS (SOUTH AFRICA'S NATIONAL LIBERATION MOVEMENT) Website]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dirco.gov.za/.../rev-nelson-madela-methodist-reverend-sauls.pdf|title=Nelson Mandela: A Methodist on a Mission}}</ref> Goonewardene's family were prominent figures of the Methodist Church of Ceylon and his father (Dr. Andrew Simon Goonewardene) was a lay preacher and Treasurer of the Home Mission Fund.<ref name=Methodist/> Goonewardene's grandfather Mathaes Swaris Rodrigo Goonawerdene had helped build the Panadura Methodist Church (where Rev.David De Silva's sermon went on to trigger the Panaduravadya debate) and had invited the parties for a debate.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=QNoGAAAAYAAJ&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=leslie The Story of Selestina Dias: Buddhist Female Philanthropy and Education] - Manel Tampoe, p. 23 (Social Scientists' Association) {{ISBN|9550762165}}</ref><ref>[http://archives.dailynews.lk/2011/03/07/fea15.asp Methodist Church, Panadura celebrates 150 years] - Nalin Peiris (Daily News) Accessed January 15, 2015</ref> His grand-aunt [[Celestina Dias|Selestina Rodrigo]] and another relative Jeramias Dias were the chief sponsors of the Panadura Ronkoth Viharaya and the world-famous [[Panadura Vivadaya]] debate.<ref>[http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2010/06/13/spe40.asp The Great Panadura Debate by S. de F. Jayasuriya, Sunday Observer, 13/16/2010]</ref> Their ancestor, Thome Rodrigo was a prince who was a signatory to the Malwana Convention.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120126134906/http://www.karava.org/the_rodrigo_family_of_panadura The Rodrigo family of Panadura, Karava of Sri Lanka]</ref> As traditional Chiefs of the area their ancestors had played a role in defeating Arya Chakrawarti's fleet at Panadura.
Goonewardene's mother died when he was a [[toddler]]. She was from the well known Sri Chandrasekara Fernando family of Moratuwa, who were one of the largest Sinhala land owners at the time. Leslie inherited all the wealth from his mother and as his eldest son, a major share from his father. Leslie Goonewardene was a major party (LSSP) financier.
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In the 1940s and 50s the LSSP and other [[Sri Lanka leftist parties|leftist parties]] had led the opposition to the [[Sectarianism|communal politics]] of successive governments. Leslie Goonewardene strongly opposed the racist [[Sinhala Only Act]] introduced by the [[Sri Lanka Freedom Party]] [[S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike cabinet|government]] in 1956 and was chief among the [[Sinhala people|Sinhalese]] and [[Marxist]] politicians to do so.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Y-xQ8qk9mgYC&pg=PA38&lpg=Leslie#v=onepage&q=leslie&f=false Sri Lanka in the Modern Age: A History of Contested Indentities] By Nira Wickramasinghe, pp. xii & 354 (C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd) {{ISBN|978-1850658078}}</ref> During the parliamentary debate on the Act, Goonewardena prophetically observed that "There is a grave danger, if those people the [[Tamils]], feel that a grave and irreparable injustice is done to them. There is a possibility of their deciding even to break away from the rest of the country."<ref>{{cite book|last=Rajasingham|first=K. T.|title=Sri Lanka: The Untold Story|url=http://atimes.com/ind-pak/CK24Df05.html|chapter=Chapter 16: 'Honorable wounds of war'}}</ref> In 1964 the LSSP abandoned its political beliefs and joined the [[First Sirimavo Bandaranaike cabinet|SLFP government]]. Members of the LSSP who opposed this decision, led by Edmund Samarakkody and [[Meryl Fernando]], formed the Revolutionary [[Lanka Sama Samaja Party (Revolutionary)|Lanka Sama Samaja Party]].<ref name=TI050102/> Goonewardena and Colvin R. de Silva were also opposed to this decision but they remained with the LSSP.<ref>{{cite web|title=La|url=http://www.marxists.org/glossary/orgs/l/a.htm|work=Glossary of Organisations|publisher=Marxists Internet Archive}}</ref> But in 1970 Goonewardena also abandoned his beliefs and joined the SLFP led [[United Front (Sri Lanka)|United Front]] [[Second Sirimavo Bandaranaike cabinet|government]], becoming Minister of Communications (later renamed [[Minister of Transport (Sri Lanka)|Minister of Transport]]).<ref>{{cite news|title=When bus services were nationalised|url=http://www.sundaytimes.lk/081228/FunDay/fundaytimes_2.html|newspaper=[[The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)|The Sunday Times]]|date=28 December 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Philips|first=Rajan|title=The last of the Old Left and the end of an era: Hector Abhayavardhana|url=http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=62667|newspaper=[[The Island (Sri Lanka)|The Island]]|date=30 September 2012}}</ref> Disagreements started appearing in the government in 1975 and on 2 September 1975 all LSSP ministers in the government, including Goonewardena, were dismissed.<ref>{{cite book|last=Rajasingham|first=K. T.|title=Sri Lanka: The Untold Story|url=http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DA26Df04.html|chapter=Chapter 24: Tamil militancy – a manifestation}}</ref>
Goonewardena stood for re-election at the [[Sri Lankan parliamentary election, 1977|1977 parliamentary election]] but was defeated by UNP candidate Neville Fernando.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/General%20Election%201977.PDF|title=Result of Parliamentary General Election 1977|publisher=Department of Elections, Sri Lanka}}</ref> His cousin Cholomondeley Goonewardene (1917– 2006) was also a prominent LSSPer.
==Writer==
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