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.
The University of Colombo is a public research university located primarily in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is the oldest institution of modern higher education in Sri Lanka. Specialised in the fields of natural, social, and applied sciences as well as mathematics, computer sciences, and law. It is ranked among the top 10 universities in South Asia.
The Commander of the Navy is the professional head of the Sri Lanka Navy. The current Commander of the Navy is Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera. It is a position equivalent to that of First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy or Chief of Naval Operations in the United States Navy.
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.
Ernest Corea was a Sri Lankan journalist and a diplomat noted for his work to maintain a free and independent press and for negotiations involving Sri Lanka's development programs.
Deshamanya 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.
Miss Universe Sri Lanka is a national pageant in Sri Lanka to choose ambassador for the Miss Universe pageant.
Deshamanya Neville T. D. Kanakaratna was a Sri Lankan lawyer, diplomat and scholar, who was the former Governor of the Southern Province. He was the Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United States and High Commissioner to India.
Sir Razik Fareed, OBE, JP, UM, also known as A. R. A. Razik, was a Ceylonese landed proprietor, politician and philanthropist. He was the former Cabinet Minister of Trade, Senator, member of parliament and the state council. He had also served as Ceylon's High Commissioner to Pakistan.
Jaliya Wickramasuriya is a Sri Lankan businessmen. A close relative of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, he was the Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United States from 2008 to 2014, until the US government asked the Sri Lankan government to recall him. He has been accused of several financial crimes during his tenure. In April 2022, he pleaded guilty to diverting $332,000 of Sri Lankan government funds supposedly intended for the purchase of a new Embassy site.
Oliver Weerasinghe, OBE, FRIBA was a Sri Lankan architect and diplomat. He was Sri Lanka's first City Planner and for this reason, he is referred to as the "Father of Sri Lanka's Town Planning". He is a former Ambassador to the United States.
Susantha De Alwis was a Sri Lankan diplomat, the former Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United States, Japan, South Korea and former Permanent Representative to United Nations (Geneva).
The Old Parliament Building, is the building that houses the Presidential Secretariat of Sri Lanka. Situated in the Colombo fort area facing the sea, it is in close proximity to the President's House, Colombo and adjacent to the General Treasury Building. The building housed the island's legislature for 53 years until the new parliamentary complex was opened at Sri Jayawardenepura in 1983.
Harindra Jayantha Corea was a Sri Lankan politician and Member of Parliament, who represented Chilaw. He was member of the United National Party of Sri Lanka. His parents were Sir Claude Corea who was renowned politician and diplomat and Lady Karmini Corea. Sir Claude was Minister of Labour in the State Council of Ceylon led by DS Senanayake, and was appointed the first ever Representative of Ceylon to the UK and was also Ceylon's first Ambassador in the United States. Harindra Corea was the brother of Nihal Corea and Chandra Corea. The family home was situated in Alfred House Gardens in Colombo.
Sir Senerat Gunewardene was a Sri Lankan lawyer, statesmen and diplomat. He was the first Minister without Portfolio, member of parliament and member of the State Council for Gampola, before serving in several top diplomatic posts such as Ceylon's Ambassador to Italy, Ceylon's Ambassador to the United States, where he was appointed concurrently as Ceylon's first Permanent Representative to United Nations and Ceylon's High Commissioner to United Kingdom.
Vincent M. Fernando was a judge of the Supreme Court of Ceylon.
The American Center or the former United States Chancery are currently used as the offices of USAid in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The building is located on Galle Road, Colombo.
Don Benjamin Rupasinghe Gunawardena, popularly as Robert Gunawardena, was a Sri Lankan Marxist politician and diplomat. He was one of the founders of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, which was the first political party in Sri Lanka, and served as the long time MP for Kotte. He was the leader of the Suriya-Mal Movement and served as ambassador to China between 1965 and 1970.
