Waruna Sri Dhanapala is a distinguished Special Grade Officer of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service (SLAS) with over 24 years of exemplary public service. He currently serves as the Additional Secretary (Regional Administration Reforms) at the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils & Local Government, a position he has held since September 2020. In addition to his full-time SLAS duties, Waruna was appointed as the Acting Director General of the Data Protection Authority in November 2023.

Throughout his career, Waruna has held significant roles in the Ministry of Telecommunication & Digital Infrastructure and the Ministry of Defence, where he served as Additional Secretary/Senior Assistant Secretary for over four years. In these roles, he was instrumental in coordinating key policy initiatives and national projects focused on ICT, digitalization, data protection and cybersecurity. His extensive experience within the SLAS includes a decade at the Presidential Secretariat as Assistant Secretary/Senior Assistant Secretary to the President, as well as a tenure as Director of Natural Resources at the Ministry of Environment.

From 2012 to 2014, Waruna represented Sri Lanka as Minister Counsellor at the Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. During this time, he played an active role in the UN Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and was unanimously elected Vice Chair of the Economic & Finance Committee (Second Committee) of the UN General Assembly during its 68th Session. His contributions were pivotal in drafting and adopting key UN resolutions on global economic, social, environmental, and financial issues, including those on ‘ICT for Development,’ ‘Science and Technology for Development,’ and ‘South-South Cooperation.’

A frequent moderator, panelist and speaker at both international and national conferences, Waruna has shared his expertise at events organized by UN agencies and the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) of India. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Development Studies from the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) in Japan, a Master’s in Public Administration from the Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM) at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, and a BSc (Special Degree) in Geology and Computer Science from the University of Peradeniya. Additionally, he is a Professional Member of the Computer Society of Sri Lanka and a Member of the Institute of Management of Sri Lanka.