Karunasena Kodituwakku (born March 21, 1945) 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 politician,

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

and

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

. He was the Sri Lankan ambassador to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, and non-resident ambassador to

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

and

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

.Ambassador Dr. Karunasena Kodituwakku Presents Credentials in Mongolia
/ref>Karunasena Kodituwakku presents credentials , FT Online
He was the former Sri Lankan Cabinet Minister of Education, Human Resources Development and Cultural Affairs
/ref> and the third governor of the North Western Province of Sri Lanka. He also served as the vice chancellor of

University of Sri Jayewardenepura ''Vijja Uppattam Setta'' , mottoeng = Among all that arise, knowledge is the greatest , established = , undergrad = 14,750 , postgrad = 3560 , administrative_staff = 3950 , cit ...

and Sri Lankan ambassador to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and

Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its east ...

Early life and education

Kodituwakku received his higher education at the

University of Kelaniya Pannaya Parisujjhati , mottoeng = Self-purification is by insight , established = 1875 Vidyalankara Pirivena1959 Vidyalankara University , type = Public , endowment = , adminis ...

, where he gained a BA (Hons) degree in economics in 1968. He received his MA degree in economics from the University of New England (

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

) on a

Colombo Plan The Colombo Plan is a regional intergovernmental organization that began operations on 1 July 1951. The organization was conceived at an international conference, The Commonwealth Conference on Foreign Affairs held in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri L ...

scholarship, and his doctorate (

D.Litt. Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

) from the

Academic career

Between 1968 and 1991, he served as a senior lecturer in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

at the

. In 1978 he was seconded to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Employment as a planning director with the responsibility for the introduction of the graduate placement scheme to help ease high unemployment among graduates in the 1970s. In 1983 he was appointed by the then-Sri Lankan president, J.R. Jayawardena, as the competent authority of the university when the incumbent

Vice Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor is ...

resigned his post, and July that year he was appointed its Vice Chancellor which he held till April 1988. Post-graduate Management Institute (PIM), post graduate studies on forestry department, medical faculty and the library complex were started during his time as the VC. In 1986 he became the President of the University Vice-Chancellors' Federation and was elected an Executive member of the London -based

Association of Commonwealth Universities The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) was established in 1913, and has over 500 member institutions in over 50 countries across the Commonwealth. The ACU is the world's oldest international network of universities. Its mission is ...

Diplomatic career

In 1988 Kodituwakku left Sri Lanka to serve as the ambassador of Sri Lanka in

(1988–1989) and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

(1989–1991). In 2015, Kodituwakku was appointed the Sri Lankan ambassador to China. He is also the Non-resident Ambassador to Mongolia and North Korea.

Political career

After his return to Sri Lanka, he became the 3rd Governor of the Northwestern Province in 1993. Kodituwakku resigned from this position in 1994 to run for

Parliament of Sri Lanka The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා පාර්ලිමේන්තුව ''Shri Lanka Parlimenthuwa'', Tamil: இலங்கை நாடாளுமன்றம் ''Ila� ...

from the

United National Party The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...

(UNP) and was elected as a Member of Parliament representing

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

District in the 1994 Parliamentary Elections and re-elected in the subsequent 2000 Parliamentary Elections. The 2001 Parliamentary Elections victory of the UNP saw him appointed to the Cabinet as the Cabinet Minister of Education, Human Resources Development, and Cultural Affairs. Kodituwakku was nominated as Sri Lanka's candidate to the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Executive Board in 2003. He was elected as the Asia-Pacific Representative to the UNESCO Executive Board for 2003-2007, recording the highest number and a record number of votes in the election held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France.Representation on the Executive Board, UNESCO
Sri Lanka in United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kodituwakku, Karunasena 1945 births Living people Sri Lankan Buddhists Sinhalese academics Academics of the University of Kelaniya Academics of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura University of New England (Australia) alumni Sinhalese politicians United National Party politicians Governors of North Western Province, Sri Lanka Education ministers of Sri Lanka Government ministers of Sri Lanka Members of the 10th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 11th Parliament of Sri Lanka Members of the 12th Parliament of Sri Lanka Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to China Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to Japan Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to Mongolia Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to North Korea Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to South Korea

Early life and education

Academic career

Diplomatic career

Political career

See also

References