Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunge assume duties as Secretary to Finance Ministry

Tuesday, 13 January 2015 01:55 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunge has been appointed as the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and Planning and Treasury under the new Government. He assumed duties in his new post yesterday. Samaratunga was also a Deputy Secretary to the Treasury with over twenty-five years of experience in public service in several capacities. He had previously held senior positions in the Ministry of Finance and Planning.

Among them were Director, Department of National Planning, Additional Director General, Department of Fiscal Policy and Economic Affairs and Director General, Department of Trade, Tariff and Investment Policy. Dr. Samaratunga was also on the Boards of several Public Enterprises and Government-linked companies including the Ceylon Electricity Board, Mihin Lanka (Private) Limited, De La Rue Lanka Currency and Security Print (Private) Limited, Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka and the Postgraduate Institute of Management. Dr. Samaratunga was a former Director at the Bank of Ceylon and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) Degree in Economics from the University of Peradeniya, a Master of Science (M.Sc.) Degree in Agriculture Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and also a Doctorate in Philosophy (Ph.D.) from La Trobe University, Australia.