The Sri Lanka Foreign Service (SLFS) ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා විදේශ සේවය; śrī laṁkā vidēśa sēvaya) is the body of career

diplomats A diplomat (from ; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state, intergovernmental, or nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or international organizations. The main functions of diplomats a ...

of Sri Lanka. The

Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are ...

of the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

is also the head of the foreign service.

History

Established on 1 October 1949 after the independence of Ceylon in 1948 as the Ceylon Overseas Service with the recruitment of its first batch of cadets. The service was dealt with foreign affairs, as opposed to the older

Ceylon Civil Service The Ceylon Civil Service, popularly known by its acronym CCS, was the premier civil service of the Government of Ceylon under British colonial rule and in the immediate post-independence period. Established in 1833, it functioned as part of th ...

, which dealt with domestic affairs. Following Sri Lanka becoming a republic in 1972 the service changed its name to Sri Lanka Overseas Service.

Selection and training

Members to the foreign service are selected every few years after an exam carried out by the

Department of Examinations The Department of Examinations is a non-ministerial government department of Sri Lanka and the national examination service. It comes within the purview of the Ministry of Education (Sri Lanka), Ministry of Education. The department is responsible f ...

. The select recruits undergo training at the Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training Institute and the Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration.

Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

* Ms. Aruni Ranaraja (19 November 2024 - to date) * Ms.

Aruni Wijewardane Aruni Yasodha Wijewardane is a Sri Lankan diplomat who served as the Foreign Secretary of Sri Lanka from 2022 to 2024. Previously she served in several senior positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, as well as overseas. Fro ...

(20 May 2022 – 19 November 2024

* Admiral Prof.

Jayanath Colombage Admiral Jayanath Colombage, RSP, VSV, USP, FNI is a Sri Lankan flag officer and diplomat. He was the Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Foreign Secretary) until 2022, prior to which he served as Additional Secretary to the Presi ...

(14 August 2020 - 20 May 2022) * Mr. Ravinatha Aryasinha (31 Oct 2018 – 14 August 2020

* Mr.

Prasad_Kariyawasam Prasad Kariyawasam is a Sri Lankan diplomat and the former Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the top diplomat in Sri Lanka. He was the International Affairs Adviser to Hon. Karu Jayasooriya, Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.He ...

(16 Aug 2017 – ) * Mr. Esala Weerakoon (1 Aug 2016 –

* Ms. Chitranganee Wagiswara (19 Jan 2015 –

* Ms. Kshenuka Senewiratne (Jan 2014 –

Positions

At the

* Permanent Secretary, Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Appointed by the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

) * Additional Secretary (Appointed by the

Public Service Commission Public Service Commission may refer to: * Public utilities commission ** Alabama Public Service Commission ** Public Service Commission (Indiana) ** Public Service Commission of Utah ** Public Utilities Commission of Ohio ** Public Utilities Com ...

) * Director General (Grade I) * Director (Grade II/Grade III) * Deputy Director (Grade III) * Assistant Secretary (Grade III - entry level) *At a

Diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes ...

: *

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

// High Commissioner / Permanent Representative in UN (PRUN) (Grade I) *Deputy Chief of Mission/Deputy High Commissioner (Grade II) * Minister (Grade II) *

Minister-counselor Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

(Grade II) *Counselor (Grade II) *First Secretary (Grade III) *Second Secretary (Grade III -conformation of service) *Third Secretary (Grade III - entry level, probation) *At a

consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a ...

: *

Consul General A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

(Grade II) *

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

(Grade III) *

Vice Consul A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

(Grade III)

Criticism

The Sri Lanka Foreign Service has been underutilized by the politicization of the Service, with appointments from outside the Service to Sri Lanka Missions abroad becoming the norm. This has resulted in the degradation of the implementation of the foreign policy of Sri Lanka. Allegations of fraud and misuse of public money has also been levelled at some of those who have been appointed. Due to the sporadic recruitment to the Sri Lanka Foreign Service, other Public Sector officers are also appointed to diplomatic posts, with several attempts made in the past to amalgamate the Sri Lanka Foreign Service with the Sri Lanka Administrative Service.

Former notable members of the SLOS

Asoka Girihagama Asoka Girihagama, Madukande Asoka Kumara Girihagama, is the former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Canada. Prior to the appointment he was the Ambassador to Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast ...

Vernon Mendis Deshamanya Vernon Loraine Benjamin Mendis (5 December 1925 – 23 June 2010) was a prominent Sri Lankan diplomat, who served as the United Nations' Special Envoy to the Middle East. He is referred to as the ''Sri Lanka's Father of Diplomacy'' ...

Bernard Tilakaratna Bernard Tilakaratna, SLOS (1927–2004) was a senior diplomat and bureaucrat of the Sri Lankan government. He was an ambassador to many countries and prior to retirement was the permanent secretary to Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Early life He ...

Wilhelm Woutersz Thelmuth Harris Wilhelm Woutersz (19 July 1939 - 16 November 2003) was a prominent Sri Lankan diplomat and civil servant, who served as the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka. He had served as Sri Lankan Ambassado ...

* H. M. G. S. Palihakkara *

Jayantha Dhanapala Jayantha Dhanapala (; 30 December 1938 – 27 May 2023) was a Sri Lankan diplomat. A career diplomat in the Sri Lanka Overseas Service, he served as the Under Secretary General to re-establish the Department of Disarmament from 1998 to 2003; Am ...

Susantha De Alwis Susantha De Alwis (died 22 December 2008) was a Sri Lankan diplomat, the former Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United States, Japan, South Korea and former Permanent Representative to United Nations (Geneva). Educated at the Royal College, Colom ...

* Yogendra Duraiswamy

References

External links

Ministry of External Affairs
{{Foreign relations of Sri Lanka Government of Sri Lanka Foreign relations of Sri Lanka * Overseas Service Diplomatic services