Mr. Lalith Weeratunga

Mr. Weeratunga commenced his tenure in the Sri Lanka Administrative Service in January 1977, embarking on a distinguished career marked by numerous high-profile roles within the public service. He has served in key capacities such as Secretary to the President, Secretary to the Prime Minister, and Director General of the Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission. His leadership extends to international arenas, where he held the position of Chairman for the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization (2010 - 2011) and led as Chairman of the UNESCAP Committee of ICT Experts in the Asia Pacific region (2008 – 2012). Throughout his career, Mr. Weeratunga has assumed pivotal roles, including Chairman of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka, Chairman of the Petroleum Resources Development Committee, and Chairman of the Committee for Monitoring the National Plan of Action for Implementation of Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Committee (LLRC) Recommendations. His leadership also encompasses chairing the Presidential Task Force for National Productivity, the Officials’ Committee on Chronic Kidney Diseases of Unknown Etiology, the Steering Committee on the Knowledge Hub Initiative, and the National Administrative Reforms Council. Furthermore, he has chaired the National Steering Committee on Nutrition. Mr. Weeratunga served as the ILO Chief Technical Advisor in Vocational Training, Rural Development, Management Development, and Entrepreneurship Development at the Regional Office of the ILO in Bangkok, Thailand. Presently, he holds the position of Lecturer at the Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM), University of Sri Jayewardenepura. He is also a Member of the Governing Council at Sri Lanka Technology Research University, Padukka. Notably, from December 2019 to July 2022, Mr. Weeratunga served as the Principal Advisor to H.E. the President of Sri Lanka on an honorary basis. Mr. Weeratunga's educational journey commenced at Rahula College, Matara, for his primary education, followed by Royal College Colombo for his secondary education. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Natural Sciences from the University of Ceylon (1974), a Master of Business Administration from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, and a Diploma in Regional Industrial Development (with Distinction, 1981) from the National Institute of Business Management, Sri Lanka, in collaboration with RVB of the Netherlands. In addition, he is a recipient of the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship (1998/99) from Pennsylvania State University, USA.