Ernest Corea

Ambassador Ernest Corea
President of Media Task Force Global Co-operation Council
Senior Consultant Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research Secretariat
Consultant, World Bank
Chairman of the Commonwealth Select Committee on the media and development
Sri Lanka's Ambassador to the United States, Cuba and Mexico
High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to Canada
Features Editor and Foreign Affairs columnist of the Singapore 'Straits Times'
Editor of the Ceylon Daily News and the Ceylon Observer, Colombo
Personal details
Born Kurana, Katunayake, Sri Lanka
Nationality Sri Lankan
Spouse(s) Indra Corea
Children Lester Corea, Andy Corea
Alma mater Royal College Colombo.
Occupation Journalist, Diplomat

Ernest Corea (1932–May 11, 2017) was a Sri Lankan journalist and a diplomat noted for his work to maintain a free and independent press and for negotiations involving Sri Lanka's development programs.[1]

Early life

Corea was born in Kurana, Katunayake in Ceylon.

His parents were Reverend Canon Ivan Corea and Ouida Corea, and was the brother of Vernon Corea a pioneering broadcaster with Radio Ceylon/SLBC and Ethnic Minorities Adviser to the BBC. Rev. Corea was Rural Dean of Colombo in the Church of Ceylon, Vicar of St. Luke's Church Borella, and St. Paul's Church, Milagiriya.

His family hailed from the west coast town of Chilaw in Sri Lanka and were direct descendants of King Dominicus Corea, also known as Edirille Rala who was crowned King of Kotte and Sitawaka in 1596.

Ernest Corea was educated at the Royal College, Colombo and the University of Peradeniya.

Media

He was a leading journalist with the Lake House Group in Colombo, rising to the top as Editor of the Ceylon Daily News and The Ceylon Observer. The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon is the largest newspaper group in South Asia. Corea was appointed Features Editor and a Foreign Affairs Columnist at the well known South-East Asian newspaper, the Singapore Straits Times in the 1970s.

Diplomat

Ambassador Ernest Corea was present at the White House when Sri Lankan President J.R.Jayewardene gifted a baby elephant to American President Ronald Reagan and the American people, on a State Visit to the US in 1984.

In the 1980s he was appointed Sri Lanka's High Commissioner in Canada and served as Sri Lanka's Ambassador to the United States, Cuba and Mexico. Ambassador Corea presented his credentials to U.S. President Ronald Reagan at the White House, in Washington D.C. He spearheaded the first ever State Visit to the United States of a Sri Lankan Head of State when President Junius Richard Jayewardene was invited to the White House by U.S. President Ronald Reagan in 1984.

When he left the diplomatic service he joined the World Bank in Washington D.C. as a consultant. After retirement, he worked for IDN-InDepthNews and the Berlin-based Global Cooperation Council.

He died on May 11, 2017 at his home in Springfield, Virginia, USA.[2]

See also

  1. ↑ "In Memoriam: Remembering Ernest Corea". IDN-InDepthNews. May 12, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  2. ↑ https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/notable-deaths-in-the-washington-area/2017/06/07/95c10aa0-4bb5-11e7-a186-60c031eab644_story.html
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