Esala Ruwan Weerakoon 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 diplomat who is the current SAARC Secretary General, in office since March 2020. He served as

permanent secretary A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day ...

to the Ministry of Tourism Development and permanent secretary of the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

and as

Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India The High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India is the Sri Lankan envoy to India. Countries belonging to the Commonwealth of Nations typically exchange High Commissioners, rather than Ambassadors. Though there are a few technical differences (fo ...

and ambassador to Norway.

Early life

Born to a civil servant Bradman Weerakoon and Damayanthi Gunasekara, he was educated at

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo is a selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in Janua ...

. He studied economics at the University of Kelaniya and undertook post-graduate studies at London School of Economics.

Career

Joining the

Sri Lanka Foreign Service The Sri Lanka Overseas Service (SLOS) ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා විදේශ සේවය; śrī laṁkā vidēśa sēvaya) which is most commonly referred to as the ''Sri Lanka Foreign Service'' is the foreign service of Sri Lanka ...

in 1988, he served in several foreign postings in London, Canberra, Kuala Lumpur and Paris. He served as Charge d'affairs at Sri Lankan Embassies in Washington DC and in Tokyo. During his tenure of service at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he has served in different capacities including as the Director General of Economic Affairs Division and the Director General of East Asia & Pacific Division. He has also held office as Additional Secretary (External Relations) at the Ministry of Economic Development and as Additional Secretary (Special Projects) at the Ministry of Housing & Samurdhi. He has served as Ambassador to Norway, High Commissioner to Seychelles and was appointed as High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India in November 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weerakoon, Esala Living people Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to Norway High Commissioners of Sri Lanka to India Sinhalese civil servants Sri Lankan diplomats Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Alumni of the University of Kelaniya Alumni of the London School of Economics Year of birth missing (living people) Secretaries General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation