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| Amb. Palihakkara Director |
Amb. Palihakkara retired as Foreign Secretary of Sri Lanka on 31 Dec. 2006 after 37 years of civil and diplomatic service. His last diplomatic assignment abroad was as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to United Nations in New York 2008- 2009. He served as a Commissioner on the Presidential Commission on Reconciliation and Lessons Learnt (LLRC). He was the Chairman of UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, United Nations HQ, New York. (2012). H.M.G.S. Palihakkara is also former Governor of the Northern Province (2015-2016).
He was ambassador to Thailand from 2001 to 2004 (also accredited to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam), and the Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. During the period 2002-2003 he functioned as Actg. Director General/ Deputy Director General of the Sri Lanka Govt. Peace Secretariat (SCOPP). Prior to this, Palihakkara served as Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva, and the Leader of Sri Lanka Delegation to the UN Human Rights Commission and the Conference on Disarmament, the only UN multilateral negotiating body on international arms control and security matters, (1997-2000).
Palihakkara has previously served a number of multilateral diplomatic assignments at the Sri Lanka Missions accredited to the United Nations in Geneva/ Vienna and New York representing Sri Lanka at deliberations and negotiations related to international peace and security, disarmament, human rights and humanitarian affairs and economic and social affairs. He was Director General, Multilateral Affairs at the Foreign Ministry, Sri Lanka from 1995-1997 covering inter alia work relating to preventive diplomacy, peace building, arms control/disarmament and non-proliferation matters.
