Mr. Waruna Sri Dhanapala is the Secretary of Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Digital Economy and a senior officer of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service, which he joined in 2000. After serving as Acting Secretary from November 2024, he was permanently appointed to the position in February 2026. He also serves as the Ex-Officio Chairman of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka and leads the implementation of the country’s Digital Economy Blueprint. Over the course of his career, he has held important responsibilities at the Presidential Secretariat and in the Ministries of Defence, Digital Infrastructure, Home Affairs, Environment, and Foreign Affairs. He has also contributed to national institutional reform through the National Administrative Reforms Council and served as the inaugural Director General of Sri Lanka’s Data Protection Authority, helping establish the country’s emerging framework for data governance and protection.
From 2012 to 2014, Mr. Dhanapala served as Minister Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in New York. During this assignment, he contributed to the Rio+20 process, the formulation of the Sustainable Development Goals, and the adoption of the United Nations resolution establishing World Youth Skills Day. In 2013, he was unanimously elected Vice-Chair of the UN General Assembly’s Economic and Financial Committee, representing 53 Asia-Pacific countries and contributing to resolutions on technology, ICT, development cooperation, and global economic affairs. He holds master’s degrees in International Development Studies from Japan’s National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies and Public Administration from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, as well as a BSc Special degree in Geology and Computer Science from the University of Peradeniya. He is a Professional Member of the Computer Society of Sri Lanka and serves on several national academic, professional, alumni, and UNESCO-related bodies.
