Acting Mayor of Anuradhapura

VIP of Penang Asia Pacific Tourism Conference:

Mr. Ajantha Gunawardhana, Acting Mayor of Anuradhapura Municipal Council

Ajantha Gunawardhana is a member of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service that is the key administrative service of the Government of Sri Lanka. He has received a B.Sc. Special (Hons) degree in Information Technology from Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology and Diploma in Public Administration from Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration. He has more than 12 years’ experience as a Government Officer. He started his career as a Management Assistant Officer and after his graduation entered to the Sri Lanka Administrative Service and had been working as Assistant Secretary (Training), Provincial Director of Sports and Provincial Director of Social Services for North Central Province in Sri Lanka. He has earned skills on social empowerment, Infrastructure management, development administration, grievances management and productivity promotions and he is one of the master trainers in North Central Province. Sri Lankan Prime Minister’s office has selected 70 officials pool to develop their career as “Leaders 2020” and he is one of the officers selected for this programme. Currently he has been working as one of the youngest municipal commissioners in Sri Lanka to the Anuradhapura Municipal Council which is a member city of the World Tourism Cities Federation, a well-known tourist destination and one of the world heritage cities in Sri Lanka. The term of office of the Hon. Mayor and other council members of the Anuradhapura Municipal Council has over from 30th June 2016 and According to the Municipal council ordinance he is the responsible person for duties and functions of the Mayor and the council until the next local government election.

About Anuradhapura ­­-- Member City of WTCF

Founded around 5th Century BC, Anuradhapura is the oldest city in the Cultural Triangle and Sri Lanka’s first capital. In its heyday, tens of thousands of people lived in a city of royal palaces, monasteries, temples topped by glittering jewels, houses of two or three storeys, shops, pleasure gardens, bathing pools and wooded parks.

Today, the restored remains of ancient Anuradhapura are dotted amidst peaceful parks to the north and west of the modern city. Among the many bell-shaped dagobas or temples are Thuparama (which enshrines a relic of Lord Buddha) and Ruwanweli, rebuilt to its original 2nd century BC bubble shape.