Bradman Weerakoon
Encyclopedia
Deshamanya
Deshamanya is the second highest Sri Lankan national honour awarded by the Government of Sri Lanka as a civil honour.It is conventionally used as a title or prefix to the awardee's name....
Robin Bradman Weerakoon CCS
Ceylon Civil Service
The Ceylon Civil Service, popularly known by its acronym CCS, originated as the elite civil service of the Government of Ceylon under British colonial rule in 1833 and carried on after independence, until May 1, 1963 when it was abolished and the much larger Ceylon Administrative Service was...
(born 20 October 1930) is a retired senior bureaucrat of the Sri Lankan government. Bradman Weerakoon has the unique distinction of serving nine Sri Lankan heads of state in a career spanning across half a century.
Early life
He was born on October 20, 1930 in ColomboColombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. His father, Edmund R. Weerakoon and his mother, a teacher at Princess of Wales College
Prince of Wales' College, Moratuwa
'Prince of Wales College is a School in Sri Lanka.The school is situated in Moratuwa, a suburb of Colombo. Prince of Wales' College was founded in 1876 by Sir Charles Henry de Soysa who was a famous 19th Century Sri Lankan philanthropist...
, were both devout Anglicans. He was named after the legendary Australian cricketer Don Bradman who sailed to Colombo on the day of his birth.
Education
He studied in Holy Cross, KalutaraKalutara
Kalutara is a resort town located approximately 40 km south of Colombo in Sri Lanka.- Overview :Once an important spice-trading center, the city's name is derived from the Kalu Ganga River . In the 11th Century, the town was temporarily made a capital on the orders of a South Indian Prince...
and later in St. Thomas's College, Guruthalawa
S. Thomas' College,Guruthalawa
St Thomas College, Gurutalawa is one of the private Anglican schools situated in Uva province, Sri Lanka.- History :In 1942 the S. Thomas' College at Gurutalawa was started by Dr. R.L. Hayman as a branch of the S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia. A farm with some land and buildings was donated to...
. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
's Degree with second class honors (upper division) in economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
and sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
from University of Ceylon
University of Ceylon
The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the University of Sri Lanka which existed from 1973 to 1978. In 1978 it was...
and was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study in University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
for one year where he did his MA
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in Sociology.
Civil Service
Bradman joined the Ceylon Civil ServiceCeylon Civil Service
The Ceylon Civil Service, popularly known by its acronym CCS, originated as the elite civil service of the Government of Ceylon under British colonial rule in 1833 and carried on after independence, until May 1, 1963 when it was abolished and the much larger Ceylon Administrative Service was...
in 1954 as an understudy to the Government Agent of Anuradhapura, after which he spent a year in Jaffna
Jaffna
Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna district located on a peninsula of the same name. Jaffna is approximately six miles away from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical...
where he learnt Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
. After that he was transferred to Badulla but before he could assume duties, the order was withdrawn and he was sent to the Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
's office.
In 1953, he was appointed as the assistant secretary
Secretary
A secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...
to the prime minister at the time, Sir John Kotelawela. He later became his secretary and continued after Solomon Bandaranaike
Solomon Bandaranaike
Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike (Sinhala:සොලමන් වෙස්ට් රිජ්වේ ඩයස් බන්ඩාරනායක)(Tamil:சாலமன் வெஸ்ட் ரிச்சர்ட் டயஸ் பண்டாரநாயக்கா)Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike (Sinhala:සොලමන් වෙස්ට් රිජ්වේ ඩයස් බන්ඩාරනායක)(Tamil:சாலமன் வெஸ்ட் ரிச்சர்ட் டயஸ்...
became the prime minister in 1956. After his death, he served Vijayananda Dahanayake and Sirimavo Bandaranaike
Sirimavo Bandaranaike
Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike was a Sri Lankan politician and the world's first female head of government...
. Thereafter he worked for Dudley Senanayake although some in the UNP
United National Party
The United National Party, often referred to as the UNP ), , is a political party in Sri Lanka. It currently is the main opposition party in Sri Lanka and is headed by Ranil Wickremesinghe...
felt uneasy about his presence. After Sirimavo won the election again in 1970, his secretarial career came to a halt because he was deemed untrustworthy having conveyed information to the UNP Dudley Senanayake during Mrs. Bandaranike's previous regime and he was transferred as Government Agent (Sri Lanka)
Government Agent (Sri Lanka)
A Government Agent or a District Secretary is a Sri Lankan civil servant of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service appointed by the central government to govern a certain district of the country. The GA is the administrative head of public services in the District. As Sri Lanka has 25 districts,...
to Batticaloa
Batticaloa
Batticaloa is a city in the Eastern province of Sri Lanka. It is the seat of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka. It is on the east coast, south by south east of Trincomalee, and is situated on an island.-Etymology:...
and later Ampara
Ampara
Ampara is a remote city on the East Coast of Sri Lanka, about 360 km from the capital city of Colombo. It belongs to the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. It was a part of the domain of Kavantissa and was then known as "Ambaragama", which over the years changed to Ambara to Ampara...
. In 1976, he retired from his post to join IPPF
International Planned Parenthood Federation
The International Planned Parenthood Federation is a global non-governmental organization with the broad aims of promoting sexual and reproductive health, and advocating the right of individuals to make their own choices in family planning. It was first formed in 1952 in Bombay, India, and now...
, an NGO working in the area of family planning
Family planning
Family planning is the planning of when to have children, and the use of birth control and other techniques to implement such plans. Other techniques commonly used include sexuality education, prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections, pre-conception counseling and...
as it's Secretary General.
In 1977, J.R. Jayawardene
Junius Richard Jayewardene
Junius Richard Jayewardene , famously abbreviated in Sri Lanka as JR, was the first executive President of Sri Lanka, serving from 1978 till 1989. He was a leader of the nationalist movement in Ceylon who served in a variety of cabinet positions in the decades following independence...
appointed him as the secretary to the ministry of plantation. In 1980, he joined then Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa
Ranasinghe Premadasa
Ranasinghe Premadasa was the 3rd President of Sri Lanka from January 2, 1989 to May 1, 1993. Before that, he served as the Prime Minister in the government headed by J. R. Jayewardene from February 6, 1978 to January 1, 1989...
's staff as secretary. Following the ethnic riots of 1983, he was appointed as commissioner-general of essential services with wide ranging administrative powers. In 1984 he re-joined IPPF as its secretary-general in London for one year, which entailed a great deal of travel from China to Africa to Mexico.
Following President Premadasa's assumption of office he was appointed presidential advisor on international affairs during a period when Indo-Lanka relations were at its lowest, following the expulsion of the IPKF.
After Premadasa's death, he remained as his successor Wijetunge's advisor and resigned in 1994 when Chandrika Kumaratunga
Chandrika Kumaratunga
Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga born June 29, 1945) was the 4th Executive president of Sri Lanka, serving from November 12, 1994 to November 19, 2005. The daughter of two former Prime Ministers, she was also the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party until end of 2005...
became the president.
After Ranil Wickremesinghe became the prime minister in 2001, Bradman was offered his familiar position of secretary, which he reluctantly accepted. During this time, he was an influential figure in Wickremesinghe's administration, especially in the peace process between the government and the Tamil Tigers.
His memoirs, Rendering Unto Caesar, was published in 2004 after Wickremesinghe's government was defeated.
Family life
Weerakoon married Damayanthi Gunasekara, Esala is the only child and he is a Senior Career Diplomat, he is married to the daughter of another well known Sri Lankan civil servant Bernard TilakaratnaBernard Tilakaratna
Bernard Tilakaratna, SLOS 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:...
. Esala Weerakoon was a former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Norway.