This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
Esala Ruwan Weerakoon | |
---|---|
14th SAARC Secretary General | |
In office 1 March 2020 –3 March 2023 | |
Preceded by | Amjad Hussain B. Sial |
Succeeded by | Md. Golam Sarwar |
Personal details | |
Nationality | Sri Lankan |
Esala Ruwan Weerakoon is a Sri Lankan diplomat who was the SAARC Secretary General,in office since March 2020 to October 2023. [1] [2] He served as permanent secretary to the Ministry of Tourism Development and permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India and ambassador to Norway. [3] [4]
Born to a civil servant Bradman Weerakoon and Damayanthi Gunasekara,he was educated at Royal College,Colombo. He studied economics at the University of Kelaniya and undertook post-graduate studies at London School of Economics. [5]
Joining the Sri Lanka Foreign Service in 1988,he served in several foreign postings in London,Canberra,Kuala Lumpur and Paris. He served as Charge d'affairs at Sri Lankan Embassies in Washington DC and in Tokyo. During his tenure of service at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,he has served in different capacities including as the Director General of Economic Affairs Division and the Director General of East Asia &Pacific Division. He has also held office as Additional Secretary (External Relations) at the Ministry of Economic Development and as Additional Secretary (Special Projects) at the Ministry of Housing &Samurdhi. He has served as Ambassador to Norway,High Commissioner to Seychelles and was appointed as High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India in November 2015. [6]
Deshamanya Robin Bradman Weerakoon,CCS is a Sri Lankan civil servant. As a senior bureaucrat of the Sri Lankan government,he served nine Sri Lankan heads of state in a career spanning half a century.
Patrick Mendis is an educator,diplomat,author,and executive in government service in the United States. A former American diplomat and military professor during the Clinton,Bush,and Obama administrations,he held various positions in the U.S. Departments of Agriculture,Defense,Energy,and State. He was appointed twice as a commissioner of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO at the State Department by the Obama administration. His appointment to the UNESCO Commission ended during the Trump administration when the White House withdrew from the UN agency.
His Excellency Mahinda Buddhadasa Samarasinghe is a former MP and the current Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the United States and Mexico and High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a cabinet ministry of the Government of Sri Lanka responsible for conducting and managing Sri Lanka's foreign relations through oversight of its missions abroad via the Sri Lanka Overseas Service,as well as drafting and general implementation of the nation's foreign policy.
Bernard Tilakaratna,SLOS (1927–2004) was a senior diplomat and bureaucrat of the Sri Lankan government. He was an ambassador to many countries and prior to retirement was the permanent secretary to Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Sri Lanka Overseas Service (SLOS) which is most commonly referred to as the Sri Lanka Foreign Service is the foreign service of Sri Lanka. It is the body of career diplomats of Sri Lanka. The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also the head of the foreign service.
Rodney Clement Austen Vandergert was a prominent Sri Lankan diplomat and civil servant,who served as the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka and Chairman of the Public Service Commission. He had served as Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Canada and Ambassador to People’s Republic of China &Soviet Union.
Prasad Kariyawasam is a Sri Lankan diplomat and the former Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,the top diplomat in Sri Lanka. He was the International Affairs Adviser to Hon.Karu Jayasooriya,Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.He was the former Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United States. with concurrent accreditation as High Commissioner for Sri Lanka to Trinidad &Tobago and Ambassador (designate) to Mexico. He was also the Permanent Observer of Sri Lanka to the Washington-based Organization of American States (OAS).He has also served as Sri Lankan Ambassador to India,Afghanistan and Bhutan.
Secretary-General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is head of a SAARC Secretariat,which is headquartered in Kathmandu,Nepal. SAARC is an economic and geopolitical union between the eight South Asian member nations,Afghanistan,Bangladesh,Bhutan,India,Maldives,Nepal,Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Secretary-General is appointed for a three-year term by election by a council of Ministers from member states. Secretary-General is assisted by eight deputies,one from each nation,who also reside in Kathmandu. SAARC Secretariat was established in Kathmandu on 16 January 1987 by Bangladeshi diplomat Abul Ahsan,who was its first Secretary-General,and was inaugurated by King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah of Nepal. Since its creation,its member nations have contributed to a total of fourteenth General Secretaries. Golam Sarwar from Bangladesh is the current Secretary-General of SAARC,having assumed charge on 4 March 2023.
Masud Bin Momen is the former Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh. He is a career Bangladeshi diplomat. He served as an ambassador and permanent representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations. He also served as the ambassador to Japan and Italy.
Aruni Yasodha Wijewardane is a Sri Lankan diplomat and the current Foreign Secretary of Sri Lanka. Previously she served in several senior positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka,as well as overseas. From 2005 to 2008 she served as Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Austria and Permanent Representative to the International Organisations in Vienna. In addition to her career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,she also served as an international civil servant,as Director of the Secretariat of the Policy Making Organs of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from 2013 to 2020.
James Edward Dauris is a British diplomat,currently British Ambassador to Panama since March 2024,and previously the ambassador of the United Kingdom to Peru and as the High Commissioner of the UK to Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
Sirisena Amarasekara is a Sri Lankan public servant and diplomat. He is the former Sri Lankan High Commissioner to South Africa,Mozambique,Namibia, Zambia,Zimbabwe,Lesotho,Angola,Botswana,and Eswatin. He had functioned as the secretary to the prime minister on two occasions,and as the secretary to the Cabinet of Sri Lanka. Having completed more than 50 years of public service,Amarasekara is one of the most senior Sri Lankan public servants.
Weerakoon is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Saroja Sirisena is a Sri Lankan diplomat. She serves as the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom,which she was appointed to in 2020. She has previously held diplomatic positions at the United Nations,as well as in Austria and India.
Nihal Rodrigo is a public servant from Sri Lanka who served as Secretary General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation from 1 January 1999 to 10 January 2002 and Foreign Secretary of Sri Lanka. He also served as Ambassador of Sri Lanka to China and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations.
Mahbub Uz Zaman ia a Bangladeshi diplomat and former ambassador of Bangladesh to China. He is the former secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is the former high commissioner of Bangladesh to Sri Lanka and Singapore.
Md. Golam Sarwar is a Bangladesh diplomat and secretary general of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. He is the former High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Malaysia. He is the former ambassador of Bangladesh to Oman.