Palitha Kohona

Dr. Palitha Kohona is the Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of government of Sri Lanka. He was a member of the Government delegation at the first round of talks held in Geneva, Switzerland with the LTTE in February 2006.

Early life

Dr. Palitha Kohona who hails from Matale, received his secondary education in Sri Lanka at St Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia.

Educational background

• He obtained a Doctorate from Cambridge University, UK, for the thesis – ‘The Regulation of International Trade through Law,’ subsequently published by Kluwer, Netherlands.
• He is also an Attorney-at-Law, Supreme Court of Sri Lanka.
• LL.M from the Australian National University.
• He proceeded to obtain a LL.B (Hons) at the University of Sri Lanka

Foreign missions

Prior to assuming the current position, Dr. Kohona was with the following missions.

• With effect from 6th April 2006 Special Advisor on the Peace Process and Secretary-General of the Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP).
• In 2005 he lead a UN legal delegation to North Korea at the invitation of the DPRK Government.
• Chief of the United Nations Treaty Section, New York since 1995.
• In 1992 he was attached to the Uruguay Round of Trade Negotiations institutional mechanisms and dispute settlement unit and also headed the Trade and Investment Section of the Department in Australia under the GATT/WTO.
• In 1989 chaired the negotiating group group that developed the compliance mechanism under the Montreal Protocol to the Convention on the Orzone Layer in Geneva.
• Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia since 1983.

External links

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sri Lanka