The Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( Sinhala: විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍යාංශය ''Vidhesha Katayuthu Amathyanshaya'';

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

: வெளிநாட்டலுவல்கள் அமைச்சு) (also known as the Foreign Ministry or External Affairs Ministry) is a cabinet ministry of the Government of Sri Lanka responsible for conducting and managing Sri Lanka's foreign relations through oversight of its missions abroad via the

Sri Lanka Overseas Service 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 of Sri Lank ...

, as well as drafting and general implementation of the nation's foreign policy.

History

The ministry was formally established in 1948 following the independence of Ceylon as the

Ministry of External Affairs and Defence Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

, coming under the direct control of the

Prime Minister of Ceylon The Prime Minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the head and most senior member of parliament in the cabinet of ministers. It is the second-most powerful position in Sri Lanka's executive branch behind the president, w ...

. In 1977 the government led by J.R Jayawardena divided the ministry in two, forming the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of External Affairs. A.C.S Hameed was appointed as the first minister of External Affairs on 23 July 1977.

Overseas missions

The ministry has 65 overseas missions including 13 High Commissions, a Deputy High Commission, 37 Embassies, 2 Permanent Representations to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

, 11 consulates and a representative office. It provides consular assistance to Sri Lankans traveling, working and studying overseas.

Divisions

* General Administration Division * Overseas Administration Division * Consular Affairs Division * Protocol Division * Public Diplomacy Division * Economic Affairs Division * Finance Division * IT Division * Legal Division * United Nations and Multilateral Affairs Division * South Asia and SAARC Division * Middle East and Africa Division * Europe, Americas and CIS Division * East Asia and Pacific Division

Ministers of Foreign Affairs

Permanent Secretaries

* Bernard Tilakaratna, SLOS *

Rodney Vandergert Rodney Clement Austen Vandergert (11 May 1935 – 4 May 2009) was a prominent Sri Lankan diplomat and civil servant, who served as the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka and Chairman of the Public Service Commissi ...

, SLOS *

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 ...

, SLOSWilhelm Woutersz, BY J. B. Muller
/ref> * R. C. Vendargart, SLOS * Lionel Fernando, SLAS * G. Wijesiri, SLOS * Nihal Rodrigo, SLOS * B. A. B. Goonetilleke, SLOS * H. M. G. S. Palihakkara, SLOS * Dr. Palitha T.B. Kohona * Karunatilaka Amunugama, SLOS * Kshenuka Seneviratne, SLOS * Esala Weerakoon, SLOS * Prasad Kariyawasam, SLOS * Ravinatha Aryasinha, SLOS * Jayanath Colombage, SLOS * Aruni Wijewardane

References

External links

Government of Sri Lanka

Official Website of Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Office at Geneva

The Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Sri Lanka) Foreign Affairs * Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, Foreign Affairs