Bradman Weerakoon
Bradman Weerakoon | |
|---|---|
 Bradman Weerakoon speaking at an event | |
| Born | 20 October 1930 |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan citizenship |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan |
| Occupation | Civil servant |
| Website | www |
DeshamanyaRobin Bradman Weerakoon,CCS(born 20 October 1930) is aSri Lankancivil servant. As a senior bureaucrat of theSri Lankan government,he served nine Sri Lankan heads of state in a career spanning half a century.[1]
Early life[edit]
His father, Edmund R. Weerakoon and his mother, a teacher atPrincess of Wales College,were both devoutAnglicans.He was born inColombo,Sri Lankaon 20 October 1930 and named after the legendaryAustraliancricketerDon Bradmanwho sailed to Colombo on the day of his birth.
Education[edit]
He studied at Holy Cross College, Kalutara and later was one of the first boarding students atSt. Thomas's College, Guruthalawaduring the parent school atMount Lavinia's breakup into three separate branch schools (at Kollupitiya, Gurutalawa and Bandarawela) during World War II. He obtained aBachelor of ArtsDegree with second class honors (upper division) ineconomicsandsociologyfromUniversity of Ceylonand was awarded aFulbrightscholarship to study inUniversity of Michiganfor one year where he did hisMAin Sociology.
Civil service[edit]
Weerakoon joined theCeylon Civil Servicein 1954 and was assigned as acadetto theAnuradhapuraKachcherias an understudy to theGovernment Agent(GA) of Anuradhapura, after which he spent a year inJaffnawhere he learntTamil.After that he was transferred toBadulla,but before he could assume duties, the order was withdrawn and he was sent to thePrime Minister's office.
In 1953, he was appointed as the assistant secretary to the prime minister at the time,Sir John Kotelawela.He later became thesecretary to the prime ministerand continued afterSolomon Bandaranaikebecame the prime minister in 1956. After his death, he servedWijayananda DahanayakeandSirimavo Bandaranaike.Thereafter he worked forDudley Senanayakealthough some in theUNPfelt uneasy about his presence. After Sirimavo won the election again in 1970, he was transferred as Government Agent ofBatticaloaand laterAmpara,since he was deemed untrustworthy having conveyed information to the UNP Dudley Senanayake during Mrs. Bandaranike's previous regime.
In 1976, he retired from his post to joinInternational Planned Parenthood Federation(IPPF), anNGOworking in the area offamily planningas its Secretary General.
In 1977,J. R. Jayawardeneappointed him as the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Plantation. In 1980, he joined the Prime Minister's office once again as secretary during the tenure of Prime MinisterRanasinghe Premadasa.Following the ethnic riots of 1983, he was appointed as Commissioner-General of essential services with wide-ranging administrative powers. In 1984, he rejoined IPPF as its secretary-general in London for one year, which entailed a great deal of travel from China to Africa to Mexico.
Following President Premadasa's assumption of office he was appointed presidential advisor on international affairs during a period when Indo-Lanka relations were at their lowest, following the expulsion of theIPKF.
After Premadasa's death, he continued as the advisor of his successorWijetunge,and resigned in 1994 whenChandrika Kumaratungabecame the president.
AfterRanil Wickremesinghebecame the prime minister in 2001, Weerakoon was reappointed to his previous position of Secretary to the prime minister. He was an influential figure in Wickremesinghe's administration, especially in the peace process between the government and theTamil Tigers.[2]
His memoirRendering Unto Caesarwas published in 2004 after Wickremesinghe's government was defeated.[3]
Family[edit]
Weerakoon married Damayanthi Gunasekara (d. June 2007).[4]They have one child,Esala,who also became a senior civil servant. Married to Krishanti,[4]the daughter of another well known Sri Lankan civil servantBernard Tilakaratna,Esala Weerakoonwas a former Sri Lankan ambassador to Norway who declined to co-operate in a publicity campaign against the Tamil Tigers,[2]former Deputy Chief of Mission at the Sri Lanka Embassy inWashington,USA and current Sri LankanHigh CommissionertoIndia.
References[edit]
- ^David, Marianne (interviewer)The man who served under nine Prime Ministers of Ceylon/Sri Lankaathttp://dbsjeyaraj,20 October 2010
- ^abEnvoy to Oslo recalledat nation.lk News, 1 February 2009
- ^Weerakoon, BradmanRendering Unto Caesar: A Fascinating Story of One Man's Tenure Under Nine Prime Ministers and Presidents of Sri LankaNew Dawn Press, 2004.ISBN9781932705461
- ^abObituary noticeat Sri LanksDaily Mirror,14 June 2007
External links[edit]
- Bradman Weerakoon: Biographical sketchat bradmanweerakoon
- Interview by Sanjana Haththotuwaat groundviews.org, 1 December 2010
- Sri Kantha, SachiRendering Unto Caesar: Memoirs of a Sinhalese Bureaucrat(Pro-Tamil) review at Sangam.org, 19 December 2004
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