Tilak Janaka Marapana PC (born August 1942) is a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

n lawyer. He was the

Minister 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 foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

and Development Assignments. He is a Member of Parliament appointed from the

national list The National List (, ''Reshima Mamlakhtit''), sometimes translated as the State List, was a political party in Israel. Despite being founded by David Ben-Gurion, one of the fathers of the Israeli left, the party is one of the ancestors of the mo ...

and had served as Minister of Law and Order, Prison Reforms from September 2015 to November 2015 and

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

(2001–2003) and Minister of Transport, Highways and Aviation (2002–2004). As Minister of Defence, he was the only non Presidential or Prime Ministerial holder of the portfolio. A lawyer by profession and a

President's Counsel A president's counsel ( postnominal PC) is an eminent lawyer who is appointed by the President of Sri Lanka as an individual "learned in the law". The term is an honorific that replaced the Queen's Counsel (QC), which Sri Lanka ceased appointing ...

, he had served as a government prosecutor in the Attorney General's Department for twenty six years, serving as

Solicitor General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

and

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Early life and education

Marapana hails from

Ratnapura Ratnapura (, ; , ) ("City of Gems" in Sinhala and Tamil) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Sabaragamuwa Province, as well as the Ratnapura District, and is a traditional centre for the Sri Lankan gem trade. It is loca ...

Sabaragamuwa The Sabaragamuwa Province (, , ) is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka. Ratnapura is the capital of the province. History The provinces of Sri Lanka were created by the British in the 19th century, but did not have any legal status until 198 ...

, he is the second son of former District Judge P. Marapana and has one brother Gamini Marapana, PC. He is an alumnus of

S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia (abbreviated as STC), is a fee-levying Anglican selective entry boys' private school in Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by James Chapman, the first Anglican Bishop of Colombo, in 1851, it was founded as ...

. He has a degree in chemistry and maths as well as a law degree.Another 'gem' new Defence Minister
/ref>

Legal career

Marapana joined the Attorney General's Department as a

Crown Counsel Crown counsel are lawyers, generally in Common Law jurisdictions, who provide advice to the government and acts as prosecutors in cases. In various jurisdictions their title can vary and they could also be known as the Queen's Advocate, King's Adv ...

in 1968. In 1988 he was made a

. In 1990 he was appointed Solicitor General and thereafter was promoted to Attorney General in 1992. He retired as Attorney General in 1995, following the change of the

United National Party The United National Party (UNP; , ) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right political party in Sri Lanka. Founded in 1946, the party was one of Sri Lanka's two main parties for several decades. The UNP has served as the country's ruling party ...

Government, reverting to the

Unofficial Bar The unofficial bar in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separa ...

Political career

In 2000 he was appointed a Member of Parliament from the

by the UNP. In 2001 he was made

. In 2002 he was made Minister of Transport, Highways, and Aviation in addition to the portfolio of Minister of Defence. In 2015, he was reappointed Member of Parliament from the national list and was appointed Cabinet Minister of Law and Order, Prison Reforms in September 2015. He resigned from the post in November 2015 after a speech he made in Parliament regarding the legal position of the Avant Garde controversy. In May 2017, following a

cabinet reshuffle A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the head of state changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in parliam ...

he was appointed Minister of Development Assignments. He was also appointed for the post of

on August 15, 2017 after the resignation of Ravi Karunanayake.

Family

Marapana is married to Stella, they have two sons, Janaka and Chamith both practicing lawyers.

References

External links