President appoints 10 new Ministry Secretaries and 2 Chief Secretaries

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has made significant administrative changes with the appointment of new secretaries to ten ministries and the assignment of two chief secretaries to two provinces. These appointments are slated to become effective from 1 January, 2024.

Among the notable appointments are Wasantha Perera, who will serve as the Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Nihal M. Ranasinghe, appointed as the Secretary of the Ministry of Ministry of Justice, Prisons, and Constitutional Reforms. Additionally Gunadasa Samarasinghe has been named the Secretary of the Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation.

A.C. Mohammad Nafeel was appointed as the Secretary of the Ministry of Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure. W.P.P. Yasaratne has been appointed as the Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils, and Local Government, while Saman Darshana Pandikorala takes on the role of Secretary of the Ministry of Irrigation.

B.K.P. Chandrakeerthi was appointed as the Secretary to the Ministry of Environment while Dr. Sulaksha Jayawardena was appointed as the Secretary to the Ministry of Power and Energy. Engineer Ranjith Rubasinghe was appointed as the Secretary to the Ministry of Transport and Highways and Dr. Dharmasri Kumaratunga was appointed to the post of Secretary, Ministry of Technology.

Furthermore, President Wickremesinghe appointed R.M.W.S. Samaradiwakara as the Chief Secretary of the North Central Province while S.L.D.K. Wijayasinghe was appointed to the post of Chief Secretary of the Western Province. 

“These appointments mark a significant restructuring of key positions in the Government,” the President’s Media Division said.