Karunasena Kodituwakku | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sri Lankan Ambassador toChina | |
| In office 2015–2020 | |
| Preceded by | Ranjit Uyangoda |
| Succeeded by | Dr. Palitha Kohona |
| Asia-Pacific Representative to the UNESCO Executive Board | |
| In office 2003–2007 | |
| Cabinet Minister of Education, Human Resources Development and Cultural Affairs | |
| In office 2001–2004 | |
| 3rd Governor of North Western Province | |
| In office 13 October 1993 – 7 July 1994 | |
| Sri Lankan Ambassador toJapan andSouth Korea | |
| In office 1988–1991 | |
| Member of Parliament forColombo District | |
| In office 25 August 1994 – 7 February 2004 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1945-03-21)21 March 1945 (age 80) British Ceylon |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Political party | United National Party |
| Spouse | Chandani Dahanayake Kodituwakku |
| Children | Manikya, Isankya, Danushka |
| Occupation | AcademicDiplomatPolitician |
| Profession | Economist,University Lecturer |
Karunasena Kodituwakku (born March 21, 1945) is aSri Lankan politician,academic anddiplomat. He was educated atSt. Servatius' College,Matara. He was the Sri Lankan ambassador toChina, and non-resident ambassador toMongolia andNorth Korea.[1][2][3] He was the former Sri Lankan Cabinet Minister of Education, Human Resources Development and Cultural Affairs[4] and the third governor of the North Western Province of Sri Lanka. He also served as the vice chancellor ofUniversity of Sri Jayewardenepura and Sri Lankan ambassador toJapan andRepublic of Korea.
Kodituwakku received his higher education at theUniversity of Kelaniya, where he gained a BA (Hons) degree in economics in 1968. He received his MA degree in economics from theUniversity of New England (Australia) on aColombo Plan scholarship, and his doctorate (D.Litt.) from theUniversity of Sri Jayewardenepura.
Between 1968 and 1991, he served as a senior lecturer ineconomics at theUniversity 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 incumbentVice Chancellor resigned his post, and July that year he was appointed its Vice Chancellor which he held till April 1988. Post-graduate Management Institute (PIM), 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 -basedAssociation of Commonwealth Universities.
In 1988 Kodituwakku left Sri Lanka to serve as the ambassador of Sri Lanka inJapan (1988–1989) andSouth Korea (1989–1991).
In 2015, Kodituwakku was appointed the Sri Lankan ambassador to China.[5] He is also the Non-resident Ambassador to Mongolia and North Korea.[2][3]
After his return to Sri Lanka, he became the 3rd Governor of theNorthwestern Province in 1993.
Kodituwakku resigned from this position in 1994 to run forParliament of Sri Lanka from theUnited National Party (UNP) and was elected as a Member of Parliament representingColombo District in the 1994 Parliamentary Elections and re-elected in the subsequent 2000 Parliamentary Elections.
The 2001 Parliamentary Elections victory of the UNP saw him appointed to the Cabinet as the Cabinet Minister of Education, Human Resources Development, and Cultural Affairs.[4]
Kodituwakku was nominated as Sri Lanka's candidate to theUNESCO Executive Board in 2003. He was elected as the Asia-Pacific Representative to the UNESCO Executive Board for 2003-2007, recording the highest number and a record number of votes in the election held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France.[6]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Governor of the North Western Province 1993–1994 | Succeeded by |
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