Former Foreign Secretary Romesh Jayasinghe passes away

The Ministry of External Affairs announces with profound sadness and sorrow, the passing away of its former Foreign Secretary, Chrysantha Romesh Jayasinghe on 8 August 2011.

Jayasinghe, a senior Foreign  Service Officer was appointed as Foreign Secretary by the President on 1 October 2009, a position in which he continued until his appointment as an Advisor to the President on 28 March 2011.

The senior most Sri Lanka Foreign Service Officer, Jayasinghe joined the Sri Lanka Foreign Service in 1981, ranking first in the batch.  He has served as Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India in New Delhi and as the country’s Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union, prior to his appointment as the Foreign Secretary. He has also served in various capacities at Sri Lanka Missions in Bonn,

Geneva and Bangladesh. Jayasinghe, who was 56 years old at the time of his death, is survived by his wife, son and daughter.

He was also the son of the late W. T. Jayasinghe, a former Civil Servant and Foreign Secretary and the late B. Jayasinghe.

The External Affairs Ministry said it shares the grief of the late Jayasinghe’s family and offers its condolences to the bereaved family members.