Sirisena Amarasekara


Sirisena Amarasekara is a senior Sri Lankan public servant who is the current secretary to the Cabinet of Sri Lanka. As the Cabinet Secretary, he functions as the executive head of the Cabinet Office. Prior to receiving this appointment in November 2019, among other government appointments, he had functioned as the secretary to the Prime Minister on two occasions.

Early Life and education

Sirisena Amarasekara was born in 1947 in Mideniya on the southern coast of Sri Lanka.
He is a B.Com graduate from the University of Peradeniya. He also holds postgraduate qualifications in Development Economics from the University of Bath.

Career

Amarasekara joined the Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs in 1970 and served for more than 44 years in the public sector in various senior positions. He served for 15 years as a Secretary for ministries such as Highways and Road Development, Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Ports and Shipping, and Agriculture. He also served as the Secretary to the Prime Minister on two occasions.
He has also served as the Chairman of Road Development Authority and Chairman of the Urban Development Authority. After his retirement from the public service in 2015 he served as the President of the Pavura association of Intellectual Professionals and as the president of Voice for Justice a NGO to voice against political victimization.
He has served in various positions in the past including as the Secretary to the Ministry of Western Regional Development, Chairman of the Petroleum Corporation, Chairman of the Road Development Authority, Chairman of the Urban Development Authority, Chairman of the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agriculture Research Institute, Director General of Regional Development as part of the Ministry of Policy Planing, Director of Integrated Rural Development project of Matara District, Director General of Mahaweli Authority, and the Additional Director General of Southern Development Authority.

Secretary to the Prime Minister

Following the Appointment of the new prime minister D.M. Jayaratne in 2010, Amarasekara, who functioned as the Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture at that time, was appointed as the Secretary to the Prime Minister, and continued to function in this office until 2015, when he was succeeded by S. Ekanayaka.
In 2018, when the former president Mahinda Rajapaksa was appointed Prime Minister, Sirisena Amarasekara was . This was the second time he served in this office.

Past Appointments

Srisena Amarasekara is married to A.D.H. Amarasekara and has two sons: Chaminda Amarasekara, who is a Doctor in the service of the Sri Lanka Navy, and Lasantha Amarasekara, who is a prominent banker.