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 Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

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 ...

. It is the body of career

diplomats 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 internatio ...

of Sri Lanka. The

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 ...

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 ...

is also the head of the foreign service.

History

Established on 1 October 1949 after the independence of Ceylon in 1948 as the Ceylon Overseas Service with the recruitment of its first batch of cadets. The service was dealt with foreign affairs, as opposed to the older

Ceylon Civil Service The Ceylon Civil Service, popularly known by its acronym CCS, was the premier civil service of the Government of Ceylon under British colonial rule and in the immediate post-independence period. Established in 1833, it functioned as part of the ...

, which dealt with domestic affairs. Following Sri Lanka becoming a republic in 1972 the service changed its name to Sri Lanka Overseas Service.

Selection and training

Members to the foreign service are selected every few years after an exam carried out by the

Department of Examinations The Department of Examinations is a non-ministerial government department of the Sri Lanka and the national examination service. It comes within the purview of the Ministry of Education. The department is responsible for carrying out public examinat ...

. The select recruits undergo training at the

Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training Institute Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training Institute (BIDTI) is the institute in Colombo where Sri Lanka Overseas Service officers are trained. The Institute functions under Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategi ...

and the

Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration The Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා සංවර්ධන පරිපාලන ආයතනය; ta, அபிவிருத்தி இலங்கை நிர்வாக நிறுவ� ...

Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

* Ms Aruni Wijewardane (May 2022 - to date

* Mr Ravinatha Aryasinha (31 Oct 2018 - 14 August 2020

* Mr

Prasad_Kariyawasam Prasad Kariyawasam is a Sri Lankan diplomat and the former Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the top diplomat in Sri Lanka. He was the International Affairs Adviser to Hon. Karu Jayasooriya, Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.He ...

(16 Aug 2017 - ) * Mr Esala Weerakoon (1 Aug 2016 -

* Ms Chitranganee Wagiswara (19 Jan 2015 -

* Ms Kshenuka Senewiratne (Jan 2014 -

Positions

At the

* Permanent Secretary, Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Appointed by 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 ...

) * Additional Secretary (Appointed by the Public Service Commission) * Director General (Grade I) * Director (Grade II/Grade III) * Deputy Director (Grade III) * Assistant Secretary (Grade III - entry level) *At a

Diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

: *

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

// High Commissioner /

Permanent Representative A permanent representative is a diplomat who is the head of a country’s diplomatic mission to an international organisation. Organizations that receive permanent representatives from their member states include the United Nations, the World Tr ...

in UN (PRUN) (Grade I) *Deputy Chief of Mission/Deputy High Commissioner (Grade II) * Minister (Grade II) *

Minister-counselor Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seatings ...

(Grade II) *Counselor (Grade II) *First Secretary (Grade III) *Second Secretary (Grade III -conformation of service) *Third Secretary (Grade III - entry level, probation) *At a

consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth coun ...

: *

Consul General A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

(Grade II) *

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

(Grade III) *

Vice Consul A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

(Grade III)

Criticism

The Sri Lanka Foreign Service has been underutilized by the politicization of the Service, with appointments from outside the Service to Sri Lanka Missions abroad becoming the norm. This has resulted in the degradation of the implementation of the foreign policy of Sri Lanka. Allegations of fraud and misuse of public money has also been levelled at some of those who have been appointed. Due to the sporadic recruitment to the Sri Lanka Foreign Service, other Public Sector officers are also appointed to diplomatic posts, with several attempts made in the past to amalgamate the Sri Lanka Foreign Service with the Sri Lanka Administrative Service.

Former notable members of the SLOS

Asoka Girihagama Asoka Girihagama is the current Sri Lankan Ambassador to Canada. Prior to the appointment he was the Ambassador to Oman and a Director General for the Sri Lanka Overseas Service The Sri Lanka Overseas Service (SLOS) ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ල ...

Vernon Mendis Deshamanya Dr Vernon Loraine Benjamin Mendis (5 December 1925 – 23 June 2010) was a prominent Sri Lankan diplomat, who served as the United Nations' Special Envoy to the Middle East. He is referred to as the ''Sri Lanka's Father of Diplomacy ...

Bernard Tilakaratna Bernard Tilakaratna, SLOS (1927–2004) was a senior diplomat and bureaucrat of the Sri Lankan government. He was an ambassador to many countries and prior to retirement was the permanent secretary to Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Early life He w ...

Wilhelm Woutersz Thelmuth Harris Wilhelm Woutersz (19 July 1939 - 16 November 2003) was a prominent Sri Lankan diplomat and civil servant, who served as the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka. He had served as Sri Lankan Amba ...

* H. M. G. S. Palihakkara *

Jayantha Dhanapala Jayantha Dhanapala ( si, ජයන්ත ධනපාල; born 30 December 1938) is a Sri Lankan diplomat who serves as member of the Board of Sponsors of ''The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists'' and was a governing board member of the Stockholm ...

Susantha De Alwis Susantha De Alwis (died 22 December 2008) was a Sri Lankan diplomat, the former Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United States, Japan, South Korea and former Permanent Representative to United Nations (Geneva). Educated at the Royal College, Colomb ...

Yogendra Duraiswamy Yogendra Duraiswamy, SLOS was a Sri Lankan diplomat, who served in India, Myanmar, the United States (New York), Australia, Iraq, Italy, China and the Philippines. Early life and education He was born in 1923 in Jaffna to Sir Waithilingam Duraiswa ...

References

External links

Ministry of External Affairs
{{Foreign relations of Sri Lanka Government of Sri Lanka Foreign relations of Sri Lanka * Overseas Service Diplomatic services