Hemantha Warnakulasuriya
| Hemantha Warnakulasuriya PC | |
|---|---|
| Ambassador to Italy | |
|
Assumed office 2006 | |
| Personal details | |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
Hemantha Warnakulasuriya is a Sri Lankan lawyer and diplomat. He was once the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Italy.[1]
Early life
He was born to W. P. Arnolis Appu of Tangalle, Hemantha, a businessman who owned a large transport business. Warnakulasuriya was educated at the Royal College, Colombo where he launched a handwritten newspaper titled Hela Bima. His classmate at the time was Indika Gunawardena. He took over his father's business after the latter's death, becoming the President of All Ceylon Lorry Owners Association at age 19. During this time he became a patron of the arts and produced several drama productions and a Sinhala film.
He thereafter entered the Colombo Law College and set up Law Students Trust to help needy students.
Career
He took oaths as an attorney at law in 1972 and began his practice at the Colombo Magistrate's courts. He became Secretary of the New Courts Law Chambers (now known as the Colombo Magistrate's Court Lawyers Association). He was appointed convener of the Professional Affairs Committee, which drafted the "Code of Conduct and Etiquette for Attorneys-at-Law.
In 1989 he was elected Secretary of the Bar Association and served as chairman of the Legal Aid Commission for ten years. He had been elected as Deputy President of Bar Association.
He is a leading criminal lawyer and took up many notable cases at the Magistrate's Court of Colombo. In 2006 he was appointed as a President's Counsel.
The same year he was appointed as Sri Lanka's Ambassador to Italy.