SDIG Priyantha Weerasooriya appointed as Acting IGP

Senior DIG Priyantha Weerasooriya has been appointed as the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the Presidential Media Division (PMD) announced yesterday. The appointment was made under the constitutional powers vested in the President, and the letter of appointment was presented by the President’s Secretary Dr. Nandika Kumanayake, at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo.

Weerasooriya, who has served as Senior DIG in charge of the North Central Province since March 2024, brings 36 years of exemplary service to his new role. Notably, he is the first officer in the 158-year history of the Sri Lankan Police to rise from the rank of Police Constable to Inspector General of Police (IGP).

Weerasooriya joined the Sri Lanka Police as a Police Constable in 1988 before re-enlisting as a Sub Inspector in 1992. A law graduate from the University of Colombo and an Attorney at Law, he became an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) in 1999 through the Direct ASP entry examination. He also holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Human Resource Management.

Throughout his career, Weerasooriya has held key operational, middle, and strategic management roles, receiving 10 IGP commendation letters in recognition of his outstanding service. He has also participated in UN peacekeeping missions in East Timor and Haiti. His father was also a former police officer.  At the time of his appointment as Acting IGP, Weerasooriya was serving as the Senior DIG for the North Central Province.