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SRI LANKA - H.E. Saroja Sirisena

Credentials: 10.07.2019

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Saroja Sirisena was born in Colombo and studied at Devi Balika Vidyalaya, and represented the
school in track and field events. She completed a Bachelor of Arts specialising in International
Relations at the University of Melbourne, Australia and Post Graduate Studies at the Ecole
National d' Administration iri France. Prior to joining the Sri Lanka Foreign Service in 1998, she
worked as an Executive Assistant to the Minister of Commerce in 1997.

Ms Sirisena is married to Dr Sudath Talpahewa.
She speaks French and enjoys yoga, working out and cooking.

Ms Sirisena is the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Austria and the Permanent Representative of
Sri Lanka to the United Nations Office in Vienna.

lmmediately prior to this she served as the Director General of Public Diplomacy & Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Mfairs, responsible for handling communications from the Ministry with international and local rnedia and dissemination information to Sri Lanka Missions abroad and Foreign Missions based in Sri Lanka. Simultaneously, she was Director General Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responsible for Sri Lanka's Economic Diplomacy Programme and for coordinating multilateral & bilateral economic relations between government & private sector agencies, Sri Lanka's Missions overseas & foreign Missions based in Sri Lanka.

Saroja Sirisena served as th,:' Consul General of Sri Lanka in Mumbai between 2014 &2018,
responsible for relations with the Western Indian States of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa.
She served as the Director General for External Relations in the Ministry of Economic
Development handling foreign affairs related matters from 2012-2014.
Prior to this she served as Dii-ector/South Asia and Director/Consular Affairs of the Ministry of
External Affairs of Sri Lanka.

Ms Saroja Sirisena is a career diplomat of the Sri Lanka Foreign Service who has served as Minister of the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Office in Geneva from April 2010- October 2011 and the MinistN Counsellor of the Sri Lanka Embassy in Brussels accredited to the European Union and Luxembourg from 2007-2010. She has also served in the Sri Lanka Embassy in Paris and in Sri Lanka's Permanent Mission to UNESCO as the First Secretary from 2001- 2005.

Fotos: Lisa KAPICI und Carina KARLOVITS/HBF