Chairperson - Mrs. N. R. Anees
Mrs. Noor Rizna Anees has been appointed as the Chairperson and a member of the Finance Commission of Sri Lanka under Article 154R of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. She brings with her more than three decades of distinguished service in the public sector, having held senior positions across multiple government agencies. Her career began in 1994 when she joined the Department of National Planning as an Assistant Director in the Sri Lanka Planning Service. From 1994 to 2020, she served in various departments under the Ministry of Finance and Planning in different capacities, contributing extensively to national development planning. In 2020, she moved to the Ministry of Power and Energy, where she worked for three years on power and energy sector reforms. She was subsequently appointed Additional Secretary to the President at the Presidential Secretariat, serving from September 2023 until her retirement from government service in November 2025.
She possesses a wide range of academic and professional qualifications, including a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the University of Peradeniya, a Master of Science in Agricultural Science from Nagoya University, Japan, a Master of Science in Project Management from the University of Bedfordshire, UK, a Postgraduate Diploma in Labour Studies from the University of Colombo, and an LLB (Honours) from New Buckinghamshire University, UK. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Business Administration at the Asian e‑University, Malaysia, and is also an Attorney‑at‑Law at the Sri Lanka Law College.
Her professional development includes specialized training such as the Microfinance Training of Trainers Blended Distance Learning Course conducted by SLIDA in collaboration with multilateral partners, and Training of Trainers on Public‑Private Partnerships at basic, intermediate, and advanced levels organized by USAID in partnership with the Ministry of Finance. She has also participated in numerous international and local programs on project management, microfinance, SME development, financial markets, and infrastructure planning.
Throughout her career, Mrs. Anees has served as a Treasury representative on several Boards of Directors, Technical Evaluation Committees, and Procurement Committees, ensuring transparency and accountability in public finance. She has extensive experience in capital budgeting and in designing, executing, and monitoring projects related to micro, small, and medium enterprises, as well as large‑scale infrastructure projects, particularly in the power and energy sectors, many of which were funded by the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
A skilled linguist, she is fluent in Sinhala, Tamil, and English, with fair knowledge of Japanese and Arabic. Her career reflects a rare combination of academic excellence, professional expertise, and leadership in advancing Sri Lanka’s economic and development agenda.
Ex Officio Member - Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe - Governor Central Bank
Ex Officio Member - Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma - Secretary to the Treasury
Member - Mrs. J. M. C. J. Wijetunga
Mrs. Jayasekara Mudalige Chithra Jayanthi Wijetunga is a distinguished retired senior officer of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service (SLAS), with over 37 years of extensive experience in public administration, policy implementation, institutional management, and provincial governance.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Second Class Upper Division) from the University of Colombo, a Postgraduate Diploma in Human Resource Management from Victoria University, Manchester, United Kingdom, a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Administration from the Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM), and a Postgraduate Degree in Public Management from the Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration (SLIDA).
Throughout her distinguished public service career, Mrs. Wijetunga has held several key leadership positions, including Chief Secretary of the Western Province, Secretary to the Ministry of Environment, Secretary to the Ministry of Justice, Secretary of State to the Ministry of Power and Energy, Secretary of State to the Ministry of Higher Education, Deputy Chief Secretary (Administration) of the Western Provincial Council, Director of Establishments at the Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs, and Divisional Secretary of Negombo.
Her career reflects a strong commitment to strengthening public sector governance, institutional development, human resource management, and public service delivery. She has made significant contributions to public administration through her leadership in both central and provincial government institutions.
Mrs. Wijetunga possesses extensive expertise in public administration, public sector governance, institutional management, human resource development, and policy implementation. Throughout her distinguished career, she has demonstrated exceptional leadership and a steadfast commitment to strengthening public institutions, enhancing administrative efficiency, and promoting effective, transparent, and accountable governance. Her wealth of experience and strategic insight continue to contribute significantly to the advancement of public sector administration in Sri Lanka.
Member - Mr. K. Karunaharan
Mr. Karunaharan is a senior public administrator with extensive experience in Sri Lanka’s public service, particularly in district administration, provincial governance, education, and development administration.
He began his career as a Meteorological Observer in the Department of Meteorology in 1984 and subsequently joined the Department of Education as an Assistant Graduate Teacher in 1985. Then, In 1991, he joined the Sri Lanka Administrative Service (SLAS), commencing his administrative career as an Assistant Government Agent. He was later promoted to the position of Divisional Secretary and served in several Divisional Secretariats in the Batticaloa District.
In 2009, Mr. Karunaharan joined the Eastern Provincial Council as Deputy Chief Secretary (Administration). He subsequently served in the capacity as Secretary to several Provincial Ministries, gaining extensive experience in provincial administration and governance. In 2020, he was appointed District Secretary of Batticaloa, a position he held until his retirement from public service in 2022.
Following his retirement, he was appointed Provincial Deputy Project Director for the Eastern Province under the Agriculture Sector Modernization Project.
On 16 March 2023, Mr. Karunaharan was appointed as a Member of the National Police Commission for a three-year term, on the recommendation of the Constitutional Council. He was subsequently appointed as a Member of the Finance Commission on 17 July 2026, on the recommendation of the Constitutional Council.
During his distinguished career in public service, Mr. Karunaharan has also contributed to a number of academic and public institutions. He has served as a Council Member of the Eastern University, Sri Lanka, appointed by the University Grants Commission; a Member of the Board of Management of the Swami Vipulananda Institute of Aesthetic Studies, Eastern University; and a Member of the Campus Board of the Trincomalee Campus of Eastern University.
He has also served as a Member of the Academic Advisory Committee appointed by the Institute of Local Governance and as a Member of the Institutional Review Panel for Batticaloa Campus Limited, appointed by the Ministry of Higher Education.
Mr. Karunaharan holds a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree from the University of Peradeniya and a Postgraduate Diploma in Management from the Rajarata University of Sri Lanka. He has also completed a Diploma in Monitoring and Evaluation from MILODA, Academy of Financial Studies under Ministry of Finance,Sri Lanka. He obtained his Master’s Degree in International Public Administration from London Metropolitan University, United Kingdom.
As part of his professional development and international exposure, Mr. Karunaharan has participated in study and exposure visits to several countries, including India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, China, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom, covering a range of areas related to public administration, management, governance, and development studies.