Tilak Eranga Goonaratne (27 March 1919 - 4 February 2003) was a Sri Lankan civil servant and diplomat, who served as Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and the European Economic Community.
Goonaratne graduated with a BA degree from the University of London and qualified as an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Ceylon. Having joined the Ceylon Civil Service in 1943 as an cadet on appointment by the Governor of Ceylon, Goonaratne served several government departments and positions around the island including, Assistant Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs (1947-1951); Government Agent, Trincomalee (1951-1954); Government Agent, Matara (1954-1956); Registrar-General (1956-1958); Director General Broadcasting and Director of Information, Ceylon (1958-1960); Commissioner, Co-operative Development (1960-1963); Director of Economic Affairs (1963); Deputy Secretary to the Treasury (1963-1965). He served as the Council President of the Colombo Plan from 1964 to 1965 and thereafter served as the first Deputy Secretary General for Economic Affairs and Development in the Commonwealth Secretariat from 1965 to 1970. He then served as Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1975. As such with Ceylon becoming the Republic of Sri Lanka in 1972, he was the Ceylonese High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and first Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. He then served as Sri Lankan Ambassador to the European Economic Community from 1975 to 1978 with dual accreditation to Belgium. [1] [2]
He married Pamela J. Rodrigo in 1948. Following her death in 1978, he married Ina Heyn in 1986. [3]
The Colombo Plan is a regional intergovernmental organization that began operations on 1 July 1951. The organization was conceived at an international conference, The Commonwealth Conference on Foreign Affairs held in Colombo, Ceylon in January 1950, and was attended by the finance ministers of Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Ceylon, Pakistan and New Zealand, and the prime ministers of Ceylon and India. Membership has expanded significantly over the years to the current 28 governments.
Lalith William Samarasekera Athulathmudali, PC, known as Lalith Athulathmudali, was a Sri Lankan politician. He was a prominent member of the United National Party, who served as Minister of Trade and Shipping; Minister National Security and Deputy Minister of Defence; Minister of Agriculture, Food and Cooperatives and finally Minister of Education. Following a failed impeachment of President Ranasinghe Premadasa, he was removed from the UNP and formed his own party, the Democratic United National Front. He was assassinated under mysterious circumstances in 1993.
Mapatunage James "M. J." Perera was a Sri Lankan civil servant with nine members in his family in Udumulla, Padukka. He created broadcasting history by being the first Ceylonese Director General of Radio Ceylon, the oldest radio station in South Asia, taking over the helm from John Lampson of the BBC.
Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe, CCS was a Sri Lankan diplomat and civil servant. He was High Commissioner to India and concurrently Ambassador to both Nepal and Afghanistan (1963–1967) and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Treasury and the Ministry of Health. Amerasinghe served as Ceylon's Permanent Representative to the United Nations 1967 to 1980 and served as President of the United Nations General Assembly in 1976. He was also one of the leaders of the negotiations to draft the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Deshamanya Dr Vernon Loraine Benjamin Mendis was a prominent Sri Lankan diplomat, who served as the United Nations' Special Envoy to the Middle East. He is referred to as the Sri Lanka's Father of Diplomacy due to his role in formation of the country's diplomatic service and has served as Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Canada; Ambassador to France, Cuba and Secretary General of the Non Aligned Movement.
Deshamanya Gamani Corea was a Sri Lankan economist, civil servant and diplomat. He was also the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1974 to 1984, Ceylon's Ambassador to the EEC, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs of Ceylon and the Senior Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Ceylon.
Gunasena de Soyza, CMG, OBE was a Sri Lankan civil servant. He served as the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of External Affairs and Defence before appointment as Ceylon's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
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.
Mangala Nath Moonesinghe was a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician. He served as a Member of Parliament for Bulathsinhala electorate between 1965 and 1977, and the Kalutara electorate between 1989 and 1994. He was Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2000 to 2002 and Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India from 1995 to 2000.
Arambamoorthy Thedchana Moorthy was a Sri Lankan Tamil diplomat and High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
Walwin Arnold de Silva, CCS was a Sri Lankan civil servant. He was the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ceylon, Colombo and a Member of Parliament.
Sir Velupillai Coomaraswamy, CMG was a Ceylonese civil servant and diplomat. He served as the Ceylonese High Commissioner to Canada and Ceylonese Envoy to Burma.
Deshamanya Noel Wimalasena was a Sri Lankan lawyer, politician and the first Governor of Sabaragamuwa.
Benjamin Franklin Perera, CMG, OBE, CCS (1901-19??) was a Ceylonese civil servant and diplomat. He was the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs. He was Ceylon's Ambassador to the Soviet Union (1968-1969), Ceylon's Ambassador to West Germany (1961-1965), Ceylon's High Commissioner to Australia and New Zealand (1958-1961) and Deputy High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (1956-1958).
Leslie Simon Bernard Perera, CCS was a Sri Lankan civil servant. A career officer of the Ceylon Civil Service, he was the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Social Services as Director Civil Aviation, he played a major role in the formation of Air Ceylon. Later he served as High Commissioners of Sri Lanka to Canada.
Deshamanya Nissanka Wijewardane was a former Sri Lankan civil servant and diplomat. He was the former Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations.
Arthur Basnayake was a Sri Lankan diplomat. He was the Ceylon's High Commissioner to India, Sri Lankan Ambassador to Myanmar and Japan.