A.S. Jayawardena no more

Former Central Bank Governor and Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, economist A.S. Jayawardena, passed away yesterday after a brief illness. 

He was 82 years old at the time of his death. He received his primary education at St. Agnes Convent, Matale, thereafter at St. Thomas’ College, Matale. He completed his secondary education at Royal College, Colombo where he won the Henry De Mel Prize for Sinhala. Thereafter, he read economics at the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya, winning colours in athletics and graduating with a B.A. special degree in economics. Later he gained a Master’s Degree in Economics from the London School of Economics in 1964 and a Master of Public Administration Degree from Harvard University in 1975.

In 1958 he joined the Central Bank of Ceylon as a Junior Executive and was promoted as Senior Economist Grade 2 in 1963. He served on secondment for two years at the Ministry of Plantation Industries as Minister Dr .Colvin R. de Silva’s Economic Advisor and Director Planning. After returning to the Central Bank as Deputy Director Economic Research, he was appointed as the General Manager of the Bank of Ceylon. Thereafter he served in the Land Reforms Commission as Director Settlements.

He returned to the Central Bank as Director Economic Research and was appointed as the International Monetary Fund Executive Director for Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh based in Washington, from 1981 to 1986.  

In 1986 he return to the Central Bank as its Deputy Governor and was later appointed as the Secretary to the Ministry of Industries, Scientific Affairs. In 1994 he was appointed as Chairman of the Bank of Ceylon and shortly after took over as Secretary of the Treasury, a post he would hold until 1995. In 1998 he was appointed as Governor of the Central Bank, a position he held until his retirement in 2004.