
Professor Seetha Bandara Appointed as the Chairperson of Sri Lanka Foundation
Professor Seetha Bandara officially assumed duties as the new Chairperson of the Sri Lanka Foundation (SLF) on 5th May 2025. With this appointment, she becomes the 18th Chairperson of the Foundation and notably, the second woman to lead the SLF in its distinguished history. Professor Bandara brings with her a wealth of academic, professional, and policy experience. She is a senior academic at the Department of Economics, University of Kelaniya, and a prominent figure in Sri Lanka’s economic policy landscape. Her career has been defined by a strong commitment to research, public service, and advancing inclusive development. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Economics with First Class from the University of Kelaniya, a Postgraduate Diploma in Social Statistics from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, and a Master of Social Sciences (MSSc) in Economics from the University of Kelaniya. She also holds a Master of Arts in International Relations from Waseda University, Japan, and earned her PhD in Economics from the University of Waikato, New Zealand in 2015. Professor Bandara’s research focuses on critical areas such as poverty, trade liberalisation, labour migration, and economic policy reform. Her scholarly work has been published in leading academic journals, and she has presented her research at numerous national and international conferences. She is a recipient of multiple Senate Awards for academic excellence and was awarded Best Paper at the 2017 International Conference on Humanities, Social Sciences, and Education in the United Kingdom. In addition to her academic contributions, she has held several leadership roles, including serving as the Coordinator of the MA/MSSc Economics Programme and as Deputy Director of Training at the Centre for Distance and Continuing Education at the University of Kelaniya. She has also served as an Assistant General Manager – Marketing Development at the National Lotteries Board and gained valuable policy exposure through her work at the National Planning Department. Currently, she serves as a member of the Board of Management of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKIIRSS), the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA), and the National Institute of Labour Studies (NILS). Professor Bandara's appointment marks a new chapter for the Sri Lanka Foundation, which has long been recognised as a premier institution committed to education, leadership training, and civic engagement. Under her guidance, the SLF is expected to further strengthen its mission of fostering critical thought, empowering citizens, and contributing to national development. The Institute looks forward to a transformative period of innovation and growth under Professor Seetha Bandara’s visionary leadership.