Sri Lanka appoints ex-military man Jayanath Colombage as new foreign secy

The Sri Lankan government on Friday appointed ex-commander of the Navy Admiral Jayanath Colombage as the new Foreign Secretary, days after the new Cabinet took the oath with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa retaining the key defence ministry.

Colombage, 62, replaces Ravinatha Aryasinha, a career foreign service officer. He headed the Sri Lanka Navy between 2012 and 2014, and since November last year, he has been the foreign affairs advisor to President Rajapaksa.

This is the first time that a non-foreign service person has been appointed as the Secretary to the Foreign Ministry.

Colombage is one of the four ex-military officers appointed by the president