Wickrema Weerasooria
Encyclopedia
Wickrema Weerasooria was a Sri Lanka
n lawyer, civil servant, diplomat and an academic. He was the Permanent Secretary
to the Ministry of Plan Implementation, former Sri Lankan High Commissioner
to Australia and New Zealand. Currently he is serving as Sri Lanka's first Insurance
Ombudsman
.
Dr. Weerasooria was educated at Royal College Colombo
, where he excelled in Classics, winning the Harvard Memorial Prize and the Governor General's Prize. Thereafter he graduated with a LLB (Honours) degree from University of Ceylon
with First Class Honours and was called to bar as a advocate
also with First Class Honours and was placed first in order of merit.
He started he law practise and lectured at the University of Ceylon
, Peradeniya
; the Sri Lanka Law College
; the Vidyodaya University (now University of Sri Jayawardanapura); the Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Institute of Bankers.
In 1972 he obtained a PhD
from the London School of Economics
and became a senior academic at the Monash University
from 1972–1977. In 1977 he returned to Sri Lanka and served as Permanent Secretary of The Ministry of Plan Implementation till 1986 when he was appointed the High Commissioner to Australia and New Zealand and Ambassador to several Pacific countries such as Fiji, Vanavatu, Papua New Guinea, which post he held until 1990.
In 1990 he returned to Monash University as an Associate Professor of Law and also served as Director of the Banking Law Centre set up by the National Australia Bank
. He returned to Sri Lanka in 2002 and worked as a consultant to the Ministry of Tertiary Education and Training and was also a member of the government's Administrative Reforms Committee. During this period he also served as a Legal Consultant in Financial Sector Law Reforms at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka
.
Weerasooria has published over fourteen texts, most of them on banking, credit and commercial law which in Australia and Sri Lanka. His most recent text is The Law Governing Public Administration in Sri Lanka, the only text on the subject up to date.
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...
n lawyer, civil servant, diplomat and an academic. He was the Permanent Secretary
Permanent Secretary
The Permanent secretary, in most departments officially titled the permanent under-secretary of state , is the most senior civil servant of a British Government ministry, charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis...
to the Ministry of Plan Implementation, former Sri Lankan High Commissioner
High Commissioner
High Commissioner is the title of various high-ranking, special executive positions held by a commission of appointment.The English term is also used to render various equivalent titles in other languages.-Bilateral diplomacy:...
to Australia and New Zealand. Currently he is serving as Sri Lanka's first Insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
Ombudsman
Ombudsman
An ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests...
.
Dr. Weerasooria was educated at Royal College Colombo
Royal College Colombo
The Royal College of Colombo was founded in January 1835 in Colombo. It is considered to be the leading Public School in Sri Lanka...
, where he excelled in Classics, winning the Harvard Memorial Prize and the Governor General's Prize. Thereafter he graduated with a LLB (Honours) degree 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...
with First Class Honours and was called to bar as a advocate
Advocate
An advocate is a term for a professional lawyer used in several different legal systems. These include Scotland, South Africa, India, Scandinavian jurisdictions, Israel, and the British Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man...
also with First Class Honours and was placed first in order of merit.
He started he law practise and lectured at the 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...
, Peradeniya
Peradeniya
Peradeniya is a town of about 50,000 inhabitants on the outskirts of Kandy in Sri Lanka. It is situated on the A1 main road connecting Kandy and Colombo, just a few kilometres west of Kandy....
; the Sri Lanka Law College
Sri Lanka Law College
Sri Lanka Law College was established as the Ceylon Law College under the Council of Legal Education in 1874 in order to impart a formal legal education to those who wished to be lawyers in Ceylon...
; the Vidyodaya University (now University of Sri Jayawardanapura); the Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Institute of Bankers.
In 1972 he obtained a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
and became a senior academic at the Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
from 1972–1977. In 1977 he returned to Sri Lanka and served as Permanent Secretary of The Ministry of Plan Implementation till 1986 when he was appointed the High Commissioner to Australia and New Zealand and Ambassador to several Pacific countries such as Fiji, Vanavatu, Papua New Guinea, which post he held until 1990.
In 1990 he returned to Monash University as an Associate Professor of Law and also served as Director of the Banking Law Centre set up by the National Australia Bank
National Australia Bank
National Australia Bank is one of the four largest financial institutions in Australia in terms of market capitalisation and customers. NAB is ranked 17th largest bank in the world measured by market capitalisation...
. He returned to Sri Lanka in 2002 and worked as a consultant to the Ministry of Tertiary Education and Training and was also a member of the government's Administrative Reforms Committee. During this period he also served as a Legal Consultant in Financial Sector Law Reforms at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka
Central Bank of Sri Lanka
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka is the monetary authority of Sri Lanka. It was established in 1950, two years after independence. The founder governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka was John Exter, while the minister of finance at the time was J.R...
.
Weerasooria has published over fourteen texts, most of them on banking, credit and commercial law which in Australia and Sri Lanka. His most recent text is The Law Governing Public Administration in Sri Lanka, the only text on the subject up to date.