News
State sector new appointments at a glance
View(s):By Sandun Jayawardana
A host of new appointments have been made to the state sector since President Anura Kumara Dissanayake was sworn into office.
The first appointment made by Mr. Dissanayake was the appointment of Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake as Secretary to the President. Dr. Kumanayake joined the government service as an Assistant Superintendent of Sri Lanka Customs in 1997. An old boy of Rahula College, Matara, he obtained his BSc degree with first-class honors from the University of Kelaniya, as well as an MA in Public Economic and a Ph.D in Development Economics from the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) in Tokyo, Japan.
Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake
Meanwhile, Ananda Wijepala, former Secretary to the Anti-Corruption Committee established under the Yahapalana Government, was appointed as the Private Secretary to the President.
Retired Air Vice-Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha was appointed Secretary to the Ministry of Defence. He was a former commanding officer of the MI-24 Attack Helicopter Squadron, the Anuradhapura Air Force Base, and the Chinese Harbour Air Force College. The veteran flyer has been awarded the Weera Wickrama Vibushana, Rana Wickrama, and Rana Sura medals.
Other Secretaries appointed by the President are as follows: G.P. Saputantri – Secretary to the Prime Minister, W.M.D.J. Fernando – Cabinet Secretary, K.D.S. Ruwanchandra – Secretary to the Ministry of Transport, Highways, Ports, and Civil Aviation, K.M.M. Siriwardena – Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development, Policy Formulation, Planning, and Tourism, Aruni Wijewardena – Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, J.M.T. Jayasundara – Secretary to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, K. Maheson – Secretary to the Ministry of Women, Children, Youth Affairs, and Sports, M.M. Naimuddin – Secretary to the Ministry of Trade, Commerce, Food Security, Cooperative Development, Industry, and Entrepreneurship Development, A.M.P.M.B. Atapattu – Secretary to the Ministry of Rural and Urban Development, Housing, and Construction, Palitha Gunaratne Mahipala – Secretary to the Ministry of Health, W.P.P. Yasaratne – Secretary to the Ministry of Justice, Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils, Local Government, and Labour, B.K. Prabhath Chandrakeerthy – Secretary to the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife, Forest Resources, Water Supply, Plantation, and Community Infrastructure, M.P.N.M. Wickramasinghe – Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Livestock, Irrigation, Fisheries, and Aquatic Resources, D.W.R.B. Seneviratne – Secretary to the Ministry of Public Security
Retired Air Vice-Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha
Ranjith Ariyaratne – Secretary to the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, National Integration, Social Security and Mass Media Professor K.T.M. Udayanga Hemapala – Secretary to the Ministry of Energy.
News heads have been appointed to several state owned institutions as well. Dr. Tilak Siyambalapitiya assumed duties as the Chairman of state-owned Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) while Janaka Rajakaruna, who was a senior official at the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), took over as CPC Chairman.
Heads of state media institutions also changed. Acclaimed film director and senior lecturer Senesh Dissanayake Bandara was appointed as the Chairman of Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) while Priyantha Wedamulla, a senior journalist who worked at SLRC was appointed as the new Chairman of Independent Television Channel (ITN). Dr. Uditha Gayashan Gunasekara of the Department of Drama, Cinema and Television, University of Kelaniya, was appointed as the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC). Meanwhile, Gamini Warushamana, who began his career as a journalist at the Sunday Observer, was appointed as the Chairman of Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (Lake House).
Ravi Seneviratne
New appointments continued to be made as the week drew to a close. Attorney-at-Law J.M. Wijebandara was appointed on Friday as the Director General Legal of the Presidential Secretariat.
Senior Deputy Inspector General Priyantha Weerasuriya was meanwhile, appointed as the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP). The police had been headless since late July when the Supreme Court issued an interim injunction preventing IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon from performing his duties.
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