Mr. Austin Fernando

Mr. Fernando has an illustrious and long career in public service commencing from being a teacher at Nagoda Maha Vidyalaya in Galle. He started his career in administration by entering the Ceylon Administrative Service in 1967. Having served in the Department of Elections, he was transferred to Polonnaruwa where he was appointed the Additional Government Agent in 1975 and then Government Agent of Polonnaruwa, later, as Government Agent of Nuwara Eliya. In January 1988, Mr. Fernando was appointed the Secretary of the Ministry of Rehabilitation, Chairman of the State Gem Corporation, and later as Post Master General from 1991 to 1993. He was then appointed the Secretary to the Ministry of Home Affairs and Provincial Councils, Secretary of the Ministry of Cooperatives, Provincial Councils, and Home Affairs and again as Secretary of Local Government, Cooperatives, and Indigenous Medicine. After retiring early from Public Service in August 1996, Mr. Fernando joined the private sector as an Executive Director in many local and international government and non-government organizations, including UNDP, ADB, USAID, and NORAD, domestically, abroad. Opening a new chapter in his life Mr. Fernando joined as the Secretary to the Ministry of Defense in the year 2001, on the invitation of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, as a “Peacetime Secretary of Defense”. From 2003 to 2004, he served as an Advisor to the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka while serving as Senior Advisor to the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and JICA for eleven years continuously. President Maithripala Sirisena appointed Mr. Fernando as an Advisor to him in January 2015 and soon appointed him as the Governor of the Eastern Province. After a while, Mr. Fernando was invited to be the Secretary to the President on July 4th, 2017, and served till 2018, before he was appointed the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India. Mr. Fernando is a fellow at Nagoya International Training Center, and a regular contributor to local and international opinion platforms on subjects related to regional development, reconciliation, and peace. His Book, “My Belly is White”, presents the reminiscences of his stint as Secretary of Defense during a critical period in Sri Lanka’s history.