Ada Derana Sri Lankan of the Year (Sinhala:අද දෙරණ වසරේ ශ්‍රී ලාංකිකයා), is an annual award presented to

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 ...

ns who have raised Sri Lanka's profile in the international arena through their careers and lifted the name Sri Lanka globally. The awards are presented by the Sri Lankan television channel,

TV Derana Derana TV is a Sri Lankan private entertainment terrestrial television channel broadcasting in Sri Lanka. Launched on 11 October 2005, it is one of the most popular television networks in the country. Its main transmission tower is on the Kiki ...

. The awards were established in 2016 and are presented in a number of categories including arts, sports and civil servants.

2016 Awards

*Sports – Matthew Abeysinghe (swimming) *Global Entertainer -

Jacqueline Fernandez Jacqueline Fernandez (born 11 August 1985) is a Sri Lankan actress and model. She has worked in Indian films, predominantly in Hindi, besides appearing in reality shows and music videos. Debuting with ''Aladin'' in 2009 she has since then es ...

(film actress) *Entrepreneur - W. K. H. Wegapitiya *Classical Entertainer - Arunthathy Sri Ranganathan *Entertainer / Popular Category -

Bathiya and Santhush Bathiya & Santhush ( si, භාතිය හා සන්තුෂ්), also known as BNS, are a Sri Lankan pop duo consisting of Bathiya Jayakody (born on December 22, 1976) and Santhush Weeraman (born on September 5, 1977), who met while a ...

(music) *Global Businessman -

Merrill Joseph Fernando Merrill Joseph Fernando (born 6 May, 1930) is the founder and former CEO of the global tea company Dilmah. In 2019, Fernando stood down as CEO of Dilmah, as his son, Dilhan, was appointed the new head of the company. Early life Fernando was bor ...

*Global Scientist -

Malik Peiris Joseph Sriyal Malik Peiris ( Sinhala: ජෝසප් ශ්‍රියාල් මලික් පීරිස්, born 10 November 1949) is a Hong Kong-based British and Sri Lankan virologist, most notable for being the first person to ...

*Popular Award –

Kumar Sangakkara Kumara Chokshananda Sangakkara ( si, කුමාර් චොක්ශනාද සංගක්කාර; born 27 October 1977) is a Sri Lankan cricket commentator, former professional cricketer, businessman, ICC Hall of Fame inductee and the ...

(cricket) *Special Award -

Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala ( si, ජයන්ති කුරු උතුම්පාල, born 3 September 1979) is a Sri Lankan adventurer, professional rock climber, motivational speaker, and LGBT and women's rights activist. She is the first pers ...

(mountain climbing) *Public Service –

Mahinda Deshapriya Waduge Warunasiri Mahinda Deshapriya ( si, මහින්ද දේශප්රිය) is a former Chairman of Election Commission of Sri Lanka. On 30 November 2019, he informed the speaker of parliament that he would resign from the post and t ...

*Unsung Hero - Ajith C. S. Perera/ Princy Mangalika/ Wilbert Ranasinghe *Gallant Soldier – Personnel Representing the Tri-Forces *ICON of the Year –

2017 Awards

2nd awards ceremony. *Sports – Dinesh Priyantha (Paralympic javelin throw) *Entertainer Classical Category – Ravibandu Vidyapathi (dancing) *Entertainment Distinguished Achievement –

Iranganie Serasinghe Kala Keerthi Iranganie Roxanna Meedeniya, (born 9 June 1927"Irangani As Told to Kumar de Silva", Kumar de Silva, Samaranayake Publishers, 2013), popularly as Iranganie Serasinghe, is an actress in Sri Lankan cinema, theater and television. Since ...

(cinema) *Entrepreneur - Aban Pestonjee *Global Businessman –

Mahesh Amalean Deshamanya Mahesh Amalean (born 4 April 1955) is a Sri Lankan engineer and industrialist. He is the current Chairman of MAS Holdings. Early life and education Amalean was born to parents with Gujarati ancestry, his father was in the family tex ...

(

MAS Holdings MAS Holdings, the largest apparel tech company in South Asia, is among the most recognized design-to-delivery solution providers in apparel and textile manufacturing across the world. The company was founded in 1987 by Mahesh, Sharad and Ajay Amal ...

) *Global Scientist – Chandra Wickramasinghe (astrobiology) *Global Entertainer –

Rohan de Silva Rohan De Silva is a Sri Lankan pianist. De Silva initially studied at Isipathana College, Colombo and later he migrated abroad to study at the Royal Academy of Music, London and The Juilliard School, New York, while working closely with violin ...

(music) *Global Professional –

Cecil Balmond Cecil Balmond OBE is a Sri Lankan–British designer, artist, and writer. In 1968 Balmond joined Ove Arup & Partners, leading him to become deputy chairman. In 2000 he founded design and research group, the AGU (Advanced Geometry Unit). He cu ...

*Popular Category – Chamara Weerasinghe (music) *Public Service –

Gamini Wijesinghe H. M. Gamini Wijesinghe was the 40th Auditor General of Sri Lanka. He was appointed on 27 November 2015, succeeding H. A. S. Samaraweera and served until April 2019. He previously held the office of Director General of the Sri Lanka Accounting and ...

*Unsung Hero – Lily Violet/ Thilini Nadeeka Shalwin *Bravery Award – Naveen Danushka/ Nihal Sarath Kumara/ Eranga Wikumsiri *Lifetime Achievement –

Lester James Peries Sri Lankabhimanya Lester James Peries ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකාභිමාන්‍ය ලෙස්ටර් ජේම්ස් පීරිස්; 5 April 1919 – 29 April 2018) was a Sri Lankan film director, screenwriter, a ...

(cinema) *ICON of the Year –

Muttiah Muralitharan Deshabandu Muttiah Muralitharan ( si, මුත්තයියා මුරලිදරන්, ta, முத்தையா முரளிதரன், also spelt Muralidaran; born 1972) is a Sri Lankan cricket coach, former professional ...

(cricket)

2018 Awards

3rd awards ceremony. *Sports –

Dilantha Malagamuwa Dilantha Ranjula Bandara Malagamuwa ( Sinhalese: ඩිලන්ත රන්ජුල බණ්ඩාර මාලගමුව, Tamil: டிலந்த ரஞ்சுல (B)பண்டார மாலகமுவ ) (born 24 June 1963) is ...

(motor racing) / Anusha Koddithuwakku (boxing) *Entertainer Classical Category –

Rohana Weerasinghe DR. Rohana Weerasinghe (born February 18, 1949), is a Sri Lankan musician, composer and singer. Early life Weerasinghe was born on 18 February 1949 in Algiriya, Matara in southern Sri Lanka. He was the youngest child to his parents Henry Weer ...

(music) *Entertainment Distinguished Achievement – Channa Wijewardena (dancing) *Entrepreneur - M.G Kularatne (MAGA Engineering) *Global Businessman – Ashroff Omar (

Brandix Brandix Apparel Limited is an apparel manufacturer headquartered in Sri Lanka. It is considered to be the leading apparel manufacturing firm in the country. The company has branches in the United States of America, United Kingdom, Australia, Sing ...

) *Global Scientist – Prof. Gehan Amaratunga (physics) *Emerging Global Scientist –

Asha de Vos Asha de Vos (Sinhala:ආශා ඩි වොස් (born 1979) is a Sri Lankan marine biologist, ocean educator and pioneer of blue whale research within the northern Indian Ocean. She is known for her Blue Whale Project. She is a Senior TED Fell ...

(marine biology) *Global Entertainer –

Alston Koch Alston Koch is a Sri Lanka born Australian - Sri Lankan singer-songwriter, film producer, record producer and actor. He was often lauded in the Australian and Asian media as "Asia's King of Pop" or "Pop King of Asia" after gaining internation ...

(music) / B. H. Abdul Hameed (media) *Global Professional –

Ranjan Madugalle Deshabandu Ranjan Senerath Madugalle ( si, රන්ජන් මඩුගල්ල; born 22 April 1959) is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who currently serves as the Chief of the panel of ICC match referees. He was educated at Trinity College, ...

(cricket) *Global Inventor –

Bandula Wijay Bandula Wijerathne (born, 1946 in Galle, Sri Lanka) is an Sri Lankan inventor lives in USA, businessman, and diplomat. He also serves as a Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Kotelawala Defense University and he is appointed as an Ambassador fo ...

(doctor) *Special Honorary Award - Johann Peries (hiking) / Col. Rathnapriya Bandu (military) / Sri Lanka national netball team *Public Service – Samantha Gunasekara (conservationist) *Unsung Hero – Martin Wijesinghe *Bravery Award – Sergeant Dilan Sampath (police) / Keerthi Bandara Padmasiri (driver) / Tharindu Weerasinghe & Sachintha Lakshan *Lifetime Achievement – Vajira Chitrasena (dancing)

References

Sri Lankan awards 2016 establishments in Sri Lanka Awards established in 2016 Entertainment in Sri Lanka {{SriLanka-stub