Saroja Sirisena

Saroja Sirisena is a Sri Lankan diplomat. She serves as the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, which she was appointed to in 2020. She has previously held diplomatic positions at the United Nations, as well as in Austria and India.

Saroja Sirisena
Sirisena in 2023
Born
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Years active1997–current
SpouseSudath Talpahewa[1]

Early life and education

Sirisena was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka. An only child, she was daughter to a family of doctors and grew up in both England and Colombo.[2] She attended Devi Balika Vidyalaya, a school in Colombo, and was active in track and field.[3][4] After high school, she moved to Australia to study international relations at the University of Melbourne.[2] She graduated from the university with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science, and later attended Ecole nationale d'Administration in France for her post-graduate studies.[3]

Career

Between 1997 and 1998, Sirisena was the executive assistant to the Minister of Commerce. In 1998, she joined the Sri Lanka Foreign Service, where she served as the Assistant Director of Economic Affairs for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs until 2001.[3][5]

From 2001 to 2005, she was the First Secretary of the Permanent Delegation to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). After this position, she became the Deputy Director of Economic Affairs for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2005.[5]

Sirisena moved to Mumbai when she was appointed Consul General of Sri Lanka in Mumbai in 2014, a position that she held until 2018.[6][7] As Consul General, she oversaw diplomatic relations with Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa in India.[4] She has additionally held positions in Sri Lanka as part of diplomatic missions in Geneva, Brussels and Paris.[6]

Sirisena became the Director General of Economic Affairs and the Director General of Public Communications at the Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2018. She held these positions until 2019, when she became the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in Vienna.[5][4] In March 2020, she began her position as Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.[8]

In 2023, she was awarded the Diplomat of the Year from Asia and Oceania[9] at the prestigious The Diplomat magazine’s annual Awards Ceremony.

References
  1. "Queen back to shaking hands at royal audience". North Wales Chronicle. 11 March 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  2. "From Sri Lanka with Love". UpperCrust India. December 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  3. "SL High Commissioner to UK assumes duties". Colombo Daily Mirror. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2022 – via ProQuest.
  4. "Meet the New Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Austria: H.E. Ms. Saroja Sirisena". Vindobona. 18 July 2019. Archived from the original on 18 July 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. "New Permanent Representative Of Sri Lanka Presents Credentials". State News Service. 19 September 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2022 – via Gale In Context: Biography.
  6. "Ambassador to Austria presents credentials". Colombo Daily News. 13 July 2019 – via ProQuest.
  7. "Consul General Saroja Sirisena Talks About Her Journey So Far". Verve Magazine. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  8. "High Commissioner-designate to UK Saroja Sirisena assumes duties". Daily FT. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  9. "DIPLOMAT fetes London envoy Saroja Sirisena". MSN. MSN. 30 April 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
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