Prince Sarojini Manmatharajah Charles ( ta, பிரின்ஸ் சரோஜினி மன்மதராஜா சார்ள்ஸ், translit=Piriṉs Carōjiṉi Maṉmatarājā Cārḷs) is a Sri Lankan civil servant who also served as former

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the Northern Province. Charles is a Catholic and the daughter of a school principal. She has a degree from the

University of Jaffna The University of Jaffna ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாணப் பல்கலைக்கழகம், translit=Yāḻppāṇap Palkalaikkaḻakam; si, යාපනය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, ''Yāpanaya Viśvavidyālaya''; ...

and masters degrees in disaster management and business administration from the

University of Peradeniya The University of Peradeniya ( si, පේරාදෙණිය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, ta, பேராதனைப் பல்கலைக்கழகம்) is a Public research university, public university in Sri Lanka ...

and

Rajarata University of Sri Lanka Rajarata University of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජරට විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, ta, இலங்கை ரஜரட்ட பல்கலைக்கழகம், abbreviated RUSL) is a public univ ...

. Charles was Additional District Secretary (AGA) for

Vavuniya District Vavuniya (, romanized: ''Vavuṉiyā'', , romanized: ''Vavuniyāva''). Vavuniya City is the capital of Vavuniya District in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka and the largest city in the Northern Province. The municipality is administered by Vavu ...

before becoming

District Secretary A Government Agent (GA) or a District Secretary is a Sri Lankan civil servant of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service appointed by the central government to govern a certain district of the country. The GA is the administrative head of public servic ...

(GA) for the district in October 2008. Following the end of the Sri Lankan Civil War Charles was the senior civil servant in charge of the

internment camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...

for 300,000 residents from Vanni. She was appointed District Secretary for

Batticaloa District Batticaloa District ( ta, மட்டக்களப்பு மாவட்டம் ''Maṭṭakkaḷappu Māvaṭṭam''; si, මඩකලපුව දිස්ත්‍රික්කය ''maḍakalapūva distrikkaya'') is one of the 25 dist ...

in May 2012. Charles was appointed Director General of

Sri Lanka Customs Sri Lanka Customs ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා රේගුව, Shri Lanka Reguwa, ta, இலங்கை சுங்கச் சாவடி ) is a non-ministerial government department. The main functions of the department are, * Co ...

in September 2017. She was removed from the post in January 2019, allegedly after refusing to give into government pressure in respect of investigations into 143 suspicious

cargo container An intermodal container, often called a shipping container, is a large standardized shipping container, designed and built for intermodal freight transport, meaning these containers can be used across different modes of transport – from ship ...

s. She was re-instated swiftly following

industrial action Industrial action (British English) or job action (American English) is a temporary show of dissatisfaction by employees—especially a strike action, strike or slowdown or working to rule—to protest against bad working conditions or low pay a ...

by customs workers. Charles was appointed

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 ...

of the Ministry of Healthcare and Indigenous Medical Services in November 2019. She was sworn in as

of the Northern Province on 30 December 2019. In October 2021, Jeevan Thiagarajah replaced her as the new governor of Northern Province.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles, P. S. M. Alumni of the University of Jaffna Alumni of the University of Peradeniya Alumni of the Rajarata University of Sri Lanka Government Agents (Sri Lanka) Governors of Northern Province, Sri Lanka Living people Permanent secretaries of Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Roman Catholics Sri Lankan Tamil civil servants Sri Lankan Tamil women Year of birth missing (living people)