Harsha de Silva ( si, හර්ෂ ද සිල්වා born 30 August 1964) 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 ...

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He is a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for the

Colombo District Colombo District ( si, කොළඹ දිස්ත්‍රික්කය ''kol̠am̆ba distrikkaya''; ta, கொழும்பு மாவட்டம் ''Koḻumpu Māvaṭṭam'') is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level ...

and former Non-Cabinet Minister of Economic Reforms and Public Distribution;

State Minister Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

of National Policies and Economic Affairs; and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. He is a member of

Samagi Jana Balawegaya The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (, ta, ஐக்கிய மக்கள் சக்தி, "United People's Power") is a political alliance that is led by the opposition leader of Sri Lanka, Sajith Premadasa. The alliance was formed with the appro ...

Early life

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 ...

, earning a BS in Business Management from

Truman State University Truman State University (TSU or Truman) is a public university in Kirksville, Missouri. It had 4,225 enrolled students in the fall of 2021 pursuing degrees in 52 undergraduate and 11 graduate programs. The university is named for U.S. Presiden ...

in 1988. He completed his MA and PhD in Economics at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

in 1993. He participated in an executive program on evaluating social programs at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

in 2006 as an Eisenhower Fellow.

Banking career

As an economist he worked for the

DFCC Bank DFCC Bank was set up in 1955 as Sri Lanka's a pioneer development finance institution on the recommendation of the World Bank and is one of the oldest development banks in Asia. In October 2015, DFCC Bank and its 99% owned subsidiary, DFCC Vardha ...

, becoming its chief economist and treasurer. He was co-founder and Joint Managing Director of The Nielsen Company. He was placed in charge of "Economic Diplomacy" of the government and was a supporter of

economic liberalization Economic liberalization (or economic liberalisation) is the lessening of government regulations and restrictions in an economy in exchange for greater participation by private entities. In politics, the doctrine is associated with classical liber ...

and trade agreements. He is a supporter of major trade agreements and is a supporter of Sri Lanka joining the

Trans Pacific Partnership The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), or Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, was a highly contested proposed trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim economies, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singa ...

. He was the main backer of the Indian-aided project to create a modern EMT and Ambulance service in Sri Lanka. When India offered a gift to Sri Lanka in order to mark Prime Minister

Ranil Wickremesinghe Ranil Wickremesinghe ( si, රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ, ta, ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்க; born 24 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician who is the current president of Sri Lanka since 21 July 2 ...

's visit, De Silva proposed an emergency medical service after personal experiences with shortcomings in the Sri Lankan system as well the urging of doctors. Wickremesinghe also backed it, leading India's GVK Emergency Response Institute to offer training to hundreds of Sri Lankan EMTs and Paramedics as well as donating ambulances and granting 7.5 million dollars to start the service in Colombo and Galle.

Political career

He was the Deputy Minister of Policy Planning and Economic Development in the 100-day government. He became known as a media personality who hosted

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...

s relating to development and international matters. He voiced his opposition to the economic policies of the previous government. He was instrumental in the formation of the Suwa Seriya Ambulance Service in 2016.

References

External links

Harsha de Silva, PhD
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Silva, Harsha Living people Sri Lankan economists Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Truman State University alumni University of Missouri alumni Members of the 14th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 15th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka State ministers of Sri Lanka Deputy ministers of Sri Lanka Samagi Jana Balawegaya politicians 1964 births