NEW PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF SRI LANKA PRESENTS CREDENTIALS TO DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF UNOG

Dayan Jayatilleka, the new Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Office at Geneva, today presented his credentials to Sergei Ordzhonikidze, the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva.

Prior to his appointment to Geneva, Mr. Jayatilleka had established his career as a political scientist, senior lecturer at the University of Colombo, political analyst and media commentator, publishing numerous books and articles and addressing, participating in or chairing a long list of international conferences on political issues, international relations and conflict questions. Most recently, Mr. Jayatilleka had been a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Politics and Public Policy at Colombo University. During 2005 to 2006, he held the post of Visiting Senior Fellow and Adjunct Professor at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Jayatilleka has also held several political appointments, including as Executive Director of the Premadasa Centre from 1994 to 2000; as Director of Conflict Studies at the Institute of Policy Studies, from 1990 to 1994, functioning as adviser and consultant to President Premadasa from 1989 to 1993; and as Minister at the Ministry of Planning and Youth Affairs of the North-East Provincial Council, from 1988 to 1989.

Mr. Jayatilleka is working on a doctorate in Politics and Public Policy from Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia. He was the recipient of two post graduate research scholarships from Australia. He received a master's of philosophy degree from the University of Colombo in 2002. A Fulbright scholar (1982-1983), Mr. Jayatilleka was a doctoral student in political sociology at the State University of New York at Binghampton from 1981 to 1982. He undertook his undergraduate education at the University of Peradeniya, where he was awarded a B.A. in Political Science summa cum laude in 1980.

Mr. Jayatilleka was born 3 December 1956.


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