High Post Committee gives go-ahead for 7 ambassadorial appointees

• Newly-retired AF Commander to head mission in Canada
• Others include appointees to several import capitals including Saudi Arabia, The Netherlands, Thailand and Qatar

The High Post Committee of Parliament yesterday cleared the names of seven new ambassadorial appointees, including recently retired Air Force Commander Air Marshal Sumangala Dias, who was Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to Canada.

The others whose names were cleared by the Committee are A.M.J. Sadiq as High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ahamed A. Jawad as Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Aruni Ranarajah to The Netherlands, Dharshana Perera as Ambassador to Sweden, M.K. Pathmanaathan  to Egypt, S.D.K. Semasinghe to Poland, Chaminda Colonne to Thailand and M. Mafaz Mohideen to Qatar.

Yesterday’s HPC meeting was attended by Ministers Chamal Rajapaksa, Nimal Siripala de Silva, Dinesh Gunawardena, Bandula Gunawardana, Keheliya Rambukwella and Ramesh Pathirana and State Ministers Sudarshini Fernandopulle and Vidura Wikramanayaka.

Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena chairs the Committee.

The HPC is tasked with examining the suitability of any person nominated for posts of secretaries to ministries, heads of missions abroad and chairpersons of selected corporations among others and call for public representation after the names of the nominees are forwarded to it.

When a nomination is received by the Secretary to the Committee, the nominee is required to submit his/her biodata together with a Declaration of Assets and Liabilities in a prescribed form for examination by the committee.