This decision was made under the constitutional powers vested in the President.

The official appointment letter was handed to him by Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake at the Presidential Secretariat today (27).

Notably, SDIG Priyantha Weerasooriya is the first officer in the 158-year history of the police service to rise from the rank of police constable to Inspector General of Police.

A Law graduate from the University of Colombo, he became an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) after being sworn in as a lawyer at the Sri Lanka Law College.

He also holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Human Resource Management.

Remarkably, 10 IGPs have issued commendation letters in recognition of SDIG Weerasooriya’s thirty-six years of outstanding service in the Police Department.

Having served as the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) overseeing Crime and Traffic, as well as the Director of Police Logistics, SDIG Weerasooriya has participated in United Nations peacekeeping missions in East Timor and Haiti.

At the time of his appointment as Acting IGP, he was serving as the SDIG in charge of the North Central Province.