Thisuri Wanniarachchi (Sinhala: තිසුරි වන්නිආරච්චි) is a Sri Lankan author and public policy specialist.[1] She is known for her books Colombo Streets, which won a 2009 State Literary Award,[2][3] and The Terrorist's Daughter (2014) [4] She is also known for her stint as President Maithripala Sirisena's Assistant Director of Sustainable Development and the National Coordinator of the "Vision 2030" Sustainable Development Policy Formulation Project.[5] and her work for the World Bank.[6] Wanniarachchi resigned from her position in the Sirisena Administration in the immediate aftermath of the unconstitutional coup of October 2018.[7] She later served as the Secretary to the President's Expert Committee to Restructure SriLankan Airlines.[8] Wanniarachchi also served as the Lead Analyst of the Ministry of Economic Reforms in the Government of Sri Lanka[9] in 2019.
Thisuri Wanniarachchi | |
|---|---|
 Thisuri Wanniarachchi at the launch of her second novel The Terrorist's Daughter | |
| Born | September 25, 1993 |
| Alma mater | Bennington College Kansai Gaidai University University of Colombo |
Early life and education
editWanniarachchi was born on 25 September 1993 to Sri Lankan sociologist and author Malraji Wanniarachchi and Sri Lanka Army Maj. General Sunil Wanniarachchi.[10] She grew up in Colombo during the time of the Sri Lankan Civil War.
She attended St. Bridget's Convent in Colombo and later moved to The British School in Colombo on a full academic scholarship.[11][12][4] Wanniarachchi received her BA in Political Economy from Bennington College, and is currently a PhD Candidate in Public Policy at the University of Colombo.[13]
Career
editShe was President Maithripala Sirisena's Assistant Director of Sustainable Development and the youngest appointee to serve in his administration. Wanniarachchi resigned from her position in the Sirisena Administration in the immediate aftermath of the unconstitutional coup of October 2018.[14][15] She later served as the Secretary to the President's Expert Committee to Restructure SriLankan Airlines.[8] In 2019, she was appointed as the Lead Analyst of the Ministry of Economic Reforms in the Government of Sri Lanka.[9] and during which time she led an analytics division that advised the Cabinet Committee on Cost of Living, proposed and implemented regulatory designs for various essential commodity markets, and oversaw the formulation of pricing formulae for several essentials including liquid petroleum gas (LPG), full cream milk powder (FCMP) and wheat flour.[16]
Author
editWanniarachchi is the author of two books, Colombo Streets[17] and The Terrorist's Daughter.[18] Wanniarachchi wrote Colombo Streets when she was fourteen years old.[19] Colombo Streets is a story about how children belonging to different social classes experienced the Sri Lankan civil war. The book went on to be a local bestseller[20] and made Wanniarachchi the youngest State Literary Award recipient.[21]
The Terrorist's Daughter, written by Wanniarachchi during her first year at Bennington College, was launched in Sri Lanka in August 2014.[22]
Bibliography
editReferences
edit- ^ "Colombo Streets (interview)". Sunday Times. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
- ^ "Thisuri's dream award". Nation. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
- ^ Hussain, Nabeela (8 November 2010). "A budding novelist". The Daily Mirror (subscription required). Archived from the original on 29 March 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
- ^ a b "'The Terrorist's Daughter' (review)". Daily FT. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
- ^ "President's vision for a sustainable nation by 2030". Sunday Observer. 14 September 2019.
- ^ World Bank, Open Knowledge Depository (April 2021). "World Bank". World Bank. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
- ^ "Sirisena's Assistant Director Thisuri resigns".
- ^ a b "Sri Lanka : Committee appointed to restructure SriLankan airlines hands over report to President".
- ^ a b "New analytical unit established | Daily FT".
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 November 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Thisuri Wanniarachchi". Thisuriwanniarachchi.com. 30 November 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
- ^ Athukorala, Prabuddha. "Thisuri grabs top honours with the pen". Daily News. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
- ^ "Annual Research Symposium - 2020" (PDF). Faculty of Graduate Studies University of Colombo. 15 December 2020. p. 63.
- ^ "ජනාධිපතිගේ සහකාර අධ්යක්ෂ සුරූපිණිය ඉල්ලා අස්වේ".
- ^ "සිරිසේනගේ සහකාර අධ්යක්ෂ තිසුරි ඉල්ලා අස්වේ !". newstube.lk.
- ^ "LPG pricing formula: A robust economic solution for an essential energy source | Daily FT".
- ^ "Colombo Streets". Vijithayapa.lk. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
- ^ "Terrorists Daughter". Vijithayapa.lk. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
- ^ "Colombo Streets". Sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
- ^ "Nation.lk ::: - Gives a powerful message of love, life and faith". Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
- ^ "Artscope - Online edition of Daily News - Lakehouse Newspapers". archives.dailynews.lk. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
- ^ "In search of an identity - The Sundaytimes Sri Lanka". Sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
- ^ Samaraweera, Kishani. "Gives a powerful message of love, life and faith". The Nation. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
- ^ "In search of an identity". Sunday Times. Retrieved 20 November 2014.