Panagoda Don Prince Solomon Anura Liyanage ( A.S.P. Liyanage) is a
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
n businessman, television and film producer, and diplomat. On 10 March 2017, he was appointed as the Sri Lankan ambassador for
Qatar.
Liyanage received his education at
Nalanda College Colombo
''Āpadāna Sobhinī Panñā''
, motto_translation = Character Illumines Wisdom
, established =
, founder = Patrick de Silva Kularatne
, type = National
, grades = 1 ...
and began teaching, publishing a number of textbooks.
In 1989, he established the ASP Group, a private
real estate company, and served as its chairman and managing director. Liyanage was a
Millennium Development Ambassador to the People's Summit during the
34th G8 summit
The 34th G8 summit was held in the town of Tōyako, Hokkaido, Japan, on July 7–9, 2008. The locations of previous summits hosted by Japan include Tokyo (1979, 1986, 1993) and Nago, Okinawa (2000). The G8 Summit has evolved beyond being a gatheri ...
in Hokkaido, Japan in 2008, and to the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva in 2007. Liyanage ran advertisements congratulating Barack Obama before his 2008 presidential victory, further raising his political profile.
Liyanage conducted the popular Sri Lankan celebrity TV program ''A.S.P Paduru Partiya'' for 7 years. This program was awarded "best entertainment program" for 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. He also produced television and film adaptations of ''Suseema''.
Liyanage ran in the
Sri Lankan presidential election of 2010 and
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
. In the 2010 election, he achieved a distant third in
preferential voting in the commercial capital of
Colombo.
However, like a number of minor candidates, Liyanage was entered as a "dummy candidate" to maximize benefits for a frontrunner (
Mahinda Rajapaksa
Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...
) under the election laws. Between the elections, Liyanage was appointed Sri Lankan
High Commissioner to
Nigeria.
/ref> He has two daughters.
See also
* List of Sri Lankan non-career diplomats
References
Sources
A.S.P. Liyanage appointed as Sri Lankan Ambassador to Qatar
A. S. P. Liyanage appointed as Sri Lankan Ambassador to Qatar
PIM's MBA program in Doha patronised by Sri Lanka's new Ambassador and Central Province Governor
Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka hold annual event
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liyanage, A. S. P.
Alumni of Nalanda College, Colombo
Candidates in the 2010 Sri Lankan presidential election
Candidates in the 2015 Sri Lankan presidential election
Candidates in the 2019 Sri Lankan presidential election
Living people
Sinhalese businesspeople
Sri Lankan philanthropists
Year of birth missing (living people)