Wiswa Warnapala
Wiswa Warnapala | |
|---|---|
| General Secretary of the United People's Freedom Alliance | |
| In office 14 August 2015 – 27 February 2016 | |
| Leader | Maithripala Sirisena |
| Preceded by | Susil Premajayanth |
| Succeeded by | Mahinda Amaraweera |
| Minister of Higher Education | |
| In office 2007–2010 | |
| Member of Parliament for National List | |
| In office 2004–2010 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Watareke Arachchilage Wiswa Warnapala 26 December 1936 |
| Died | 27 February 2016 (aged 79) |
| Party | Sri Lanka Freedom Party |
| Other political affiliations | United People's Freedom Alliance |
| Spouse | Rani |
| Children | Yajni, Kanchanakesi |
| Alma mater | University of Peradeniya, Kegalu Vidyalaya |
Watareke Arachchilage Wiswa Warnapala (26 December 1936 – 27 February 2016) was a Sri Lankan academic, political scientist, and politician. He played a central role in developing political science as a discipline in Sri Lanka and later served as a National List Member of Parliament, holding key ministerial portfolios throughout his career. He received his early education in Economics and Political Science at the University of Ceylon, graduating with Honors in 1964. In 1967, he obtained a master's degree in Public Administration from the University of Pittsburgh in the United States as a Fulbright Scholar and later earned his Ph.D. from the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom in 1970.
Following his doctoral studies, he entered diplomatic service and served as counsellor at the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Moscow from 1974 to 1977. He subsequently pursued an academic career, holding the chair of Political Science at the University of Peradeniya, where he served as professor of Political Science prior to entering parliament. Alongside his permanent academic post, he held several international visiting appointments, including visiting professor at the University of Tasmania, Australia (1983–1984), the University of Connecticut, USA (1990), and the University of Ghent, Belgium (1992–1993).
Warnapala entered Parliament in 1994 and served as Deputy Minister of Education and Higher Education in the People’s Alliance Government from 1994 to 2000. During the same period, he also served as Chairman of the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) and was a member of the Committee on Public Enterprises, playing a key role in parliamentary oversight. In 2001, he was appointed Chairman of the Employees' Trust Fund Board.
In 2004, he was reappointed to Parliament as a National List Member and was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. The following year, in 2005, he assumed office as Cabinet Minister of Parliamentary Affairs. From 2006 to 2009, he served as Minister of Higher Education in the United People’s Freedom Alliance led government, overseeing significant policy initiatives in the higher education sector.
He continued to play an influential role in national politics and party leadership, serving as General Secretary of the United People’s Freedom Alliance from 2015 to 2016. In addition, he served as a member of the Electoral Reforms Committee and the High Posts Committee in Parliament, and functioned as the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) representative to the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) tasked with finding a political solution to Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict.
Alongside his political career, Warnapala maintained a strong scholarly presence. He authored over twenty books in both English and Sinhala and contributed more than one hundred articles to academic journals. He remained widely recognised as a leading scholar in political science in Sri Lanka.