Hemasiri Fernando (born 12 October 1949) is the former

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 Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

and chief of staff of the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

, chairman

Board of Investment of Sri Lanka The Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BoI) ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා ආයෝජන මණ්ඩලය ''Shri Lanka Ayojana Mandalaya'') is the investment promotion agency of Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍ර� ...

Early childhood

Hemasiri was educated at

Nalanda College, Colombo ''Āpadāna Sobhinī Panñā'' , motto_translation = Character Illumines Wisdom , established = , founder = Patrick de Silva Kularatne , type = National , grades = ...

. While at school he was an athlete, basketball and football player and thereafter he captained the cricket team of

University of Ceylon, Colombo The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the Unive ...

in 1971. While at Nalanda, his university entrance class master was

Premasara Epasinghe Kala Suri Premasara Epasinghe (born 5 October 1937) ( si, ප්‍රේමසරා ඈපාසිංහ), is a Sri Lankan cricket commentator and journalist. Considered as an iconic radio personality in Sri Lankan radio, Premasara became a ...

Public service career

He has been the former

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

to the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Sirimavo Bandaranaike Sirima Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike ( si, සිරිමා රත්වත්තේ ඩයස් බණ්ඩාරනායක; ta, சிறிமா ரத்வத்தே டயஸ் பண்டாரநாயக்கே; 17 April 191 ...

, former Chairman of

Sri Lanka Telecom SLT-MOBITEL (formerly known as Sri Lanka Telecom, si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ටෙලිකොම්, Śrī Laṃkā Ṭelikom, ta, ஸ்ரீலங்கா டெலிகொம்) is the national telecommunications services provide ...

Ltd, former chairman Airport and Aviation Authority. He has also represented Sri Lanka in rifle shooting in the small bore event in the 1982

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

and finished in sixth place. Hemasiri is former Secretary Ministry of Postal Services, former secretary to the

, former chairman of

People's Bank (Sri Lanka) People's Bank is a state-owned commercial bank in Sri Lanka. The second largest commercial bank in Sri Lanka. Established on 1 July 1961, it has its head-offices at Sir Chittampalam A. Gardiner Street in Colombo. The bank offer both retail and ...

, and the Airport and Aviation Authority, former chairman

National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka (IOC code: SRI) is the National Olympic Committee representing Sri Lanka. It is also the body responsible for Sri Lanka's representation at the Commonwealth Games. See also *Sri Lanka at the Olympics *Sri ...

, vice president of the Associação dos Comités Olímpicos de Língua Oficial Portuguesa,

Commonwealth Games Federation The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), currently known as Commonwealth Sport, is the international organisation responsible for the direction and control of the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Youth Games, and is governing body of the ...

. He was the defence secretary of Sri Lanka until 25 April 2019, when he resigned, taking responsibility due to the series of blasts which rocked the island nation in the previous days.

Bibliography

* ''Essays on Ceylon Railways (1864-1964)'' (2018) * ''The Uva Railway, Railway to the Moon'' (2014) * ''The Viceroy Special'' (2013)

References

* * * By Chris DHAMBARAGE * By Chinthana WASALA *
More military personnel to be implicated
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernando, Hemasiri 1949 births Sri Lankan Buddhists Alumni of Nalanda College, Colombo Alumni of the University of Ceylon (Colombo) Living people Sinhalese civil servants Permanent secretaries of Sri Lanka