The Cabinet of Ministers has appointed Mrs. Chamindry Saparamadu as the new Director General of the Sustainable Development Council (in terms of Section 15 of the Sri Lanka. Sustainable Development Act No. 19 of 2017) on the recommendation of Finance Minister Mahinda Rajapakse.
The Sustainable Development Council was set up by Act No. 19 of 2017 primarily to formulate strategies to facilitate Sri Lanka achieve national, regional and international commitments relating to Sustainable Development. Sri Lanka endorsed the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015. The Development Goals are encapsulated in the National Policy Framework ‘Vistas for Prosperity and Splendour’.
Mrs. Saparamadu is a lawyer and a well experienced professional in the development sector with over 15 years of work experience in management, programme development and in providing research and policy advisory services to a multitude of international and local organizations on governance and sustainable development issues. She counts for over 10 years’ experience with the United Nations System and most recently served as a Technical Advisor to UNDP Sri Lanka on Right to Information, and as the Head of the UN Resident Coordinators Office in Sri Lanka. She has also served on a number of government and parliamentary advisory committees including the Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Relations, the Panel of Experts to the Constitutional Assembly of Sri Lanka, the Governing Council of the Youth Corps in Sri Lanka and as a Legal Consultant to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reforms.
She currently serves on the Panel of Lecturers of the Oxford College of Business for the MSc Programme on Sustainable Management offered by the University of Bedfordshire, UK.
An Attorney-at-Law by profession, Mrs. Saparamadu has a multidisciplinary educational background and is currently following Doctoral Studies in Development Studies at the Faculty of Graduate Studies of the University of Colombo. She holds a Master’s Degree (MA) in Development Studies from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, a Master of Laws (LLM) Degree in International Trade Law from the University of Wales, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Conflict Resolution from the University of Fribourg, a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) Degree from the Faculty of Law of the University of Colombo and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) (Hons) Degree in Economics from the University of Delhi.
Mrs. Saparamadu is also an alumnus of the International Visitor Leadership Programme (IVLP) of the United States Department of State.