Karunasena Kodituwakku

The Honourable Dr
Karunasena Kodituwakku
Minister of Education Human Resource Development and Cultural Affairs
In office
2001–2003
3rd Governor of the North Western Province
In office
1993–1994
Member of the Sri Lankan Parliament
for Colombo
In office
1994–2004
Personal details
Born March 21, 1945
Ceylon
Nationality Sri Lanka Sri Lankan
Political party United National Party
Occupation Politician
Profession Economist, University Lecturer
Religion Buddhist

Karunasena Kodituwakku (born March 21, 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician and former academic and diplomat. He is a former government Cabinet Minister [1] for Human Resource Development, Education, and Cultural Affairs and the third Governor of the North Western Province. He also served as the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Japan and the Republic of Korea (South Korea).

Early life & Education

Kodituwakku received his Higher education at the University of Kelaniya where he gained a BA (Hons) degree in Economics in 1968. He received his MA degree from the University of New England (Australia) on a Colombo Plan scholarship, and his Doctorate D.Litt from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura.

Academic career

Between 1968 and 1991, he served as a Senior Lecturer in Economics at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura). In 1978 he was seconded to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Employment as a planning director with the responsibility for the introduction of the graduate placement scheme to help ease high unemployment among graduates in the 1970s. In 1983 he was appointed by the then-Sri Lankan president, J.R. Jayawardena, as the competent authority of the university when the incumbent Vice Chancellor resigned his post, and July that year he was appointed its Vice Chancellor which held till April 1988. Post-graduate Management Institute, post graduate studies on forestry department, medical faculty and the library complex were started during his time as the VC. In 1986 he became the President of the University Vice-Chancellors' Federation and was elected an Executive member of the London -based Association of Commonwealth Universities.

Diplomatic career

In 1988 Kodituwakku left Sri Lanka to serve as the Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Japan (1988–1989) and South Korea (1989–1991). After his return to Sri Lanka, he was appointed as the Governor of the Northwestern Province in 1993.

Political career

Kodituwakku resigned from this position in 1994 to run for the Parliament of Sri Lanka from the United National Party (UNP) and was elected as a Member of Parliament for Colombo District.

He served as an opposition MP until 2001 and during this time was the Media Spokesperson of the UNP. The UNP Election victory of 2001 saw him appointed as the Cabinet Minister of Human Resource Development, Education, and Cultural Affairs.[1]

Kodituwakku was nominated as Sri Lanka's candidate to the UNESCO Executive Board in 2003. He was elected as the Asia-Pacific Representative to the UNESCO Executive Board, recording the highest number of votes, from 2003 to 2005.

Currently he serves as the Chief Organizer for the UNP in the Kolonnawa electorate in Colombo district.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 UNF cabinet reshuffled after five postponements

External links