Hemasiri Fernando

Hemasiri was educated at Nalanda College, Colombo.[4][5] While at school he was an athlete, basketball and football player and thereafter he captained the cricket team of University of Ceylon, Colombo in 1971. While at Nalanda, his university entrance class master was Premasara Epasinghe.[6][7]

He has been the former secretary to the prime minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike, former Chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom Ltd, former chairman Airport and Aviation Authority. He has also represented Sri Lanka in rifle shooting in the small bore event in the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi and finished in sixth place. Hemasiri is former Secretary Ministry of Postal Services, former secretary to the prime minister, former chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom, People's Bank (Sri Lanka), and the Airport and Aviation Authority, former chairman National Olympic Committee of Sri Lanka, vice president of the Associação dos Comités Olímpicos de Língua Oficial Portuguesa, Commonwealth Games Federation.[8] He was the defence secretary of Sri Lanka until 25 April 2019, when he resigned, taking responsibility due to the series of blasts which rocked the island nation in the previous days.

• Essays on Ceylon Railways (1864-1964) (2018)
• The Uva Railway, Railway to the Moon (2014)
• The Viceroy Special (2013)

• List of Sri Lankan non-career Permanent Secretaries

• "Current NOC President Mr. Hemasiri Fernando". olympic.lk. Archived from the original on 12 April 2010. Retrieved 2 July 2009.

• "Hemasiri elected uncontested". Sunday Times.

• By Chris DHAMBARAGE "Lanka to send its biggest squad for Asian Games". lankamission.org. 26 June 2009. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011.

• By Chinthana WASALA "Olympic Day run at Ratnapura". Daily News - Lakehouse Newspapers. 20 June 2009. Archived from the original on 24 June 2009.

• "Old Nalandian sc's agm". The Sunday Leader . 24 April 2005. Archived from the original on 17 June 2011.

• More military personnel to be implicated