-By I Idrees
(Lanka-e-News -07.July.2025, 9.25 PM) Deshamanya Bradman Weerakoon, one of Sri Lanka’s most eminent and enduring civil servants—who served an extraordinary seven Prime Ministers and two Presidents—has passed away at the age of 94, marking the end of an era in the island’s public administration.
Revered for his intellect, discretion, and unfaltering commitment to public service, Weerakoon was not merely a bureaucrat, but an institution in himself—operating for decades at the highest levels of power, yet always remaining a calm presence in the background of a volatile and frequently turbulent political landscape.
Born in 1930, Weerakoon was educated at Holy Cross College, Kalutara before completing his secondary education at the prestigious S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia—a school long known for producing leaders of Sri Lanka’s political and administrative class. From there, he entered the University of Peradeniya (then the University of Ceylon), where he earned an honours degree in Economics and Sociology. His academic excellence earned him a coveted Fulbright Scholarship, taking him to the University of Michigan in the United States, where he obtained a Master’s degree in Sociology.
His early exposure to comparative governance systems, Western liberal values, and the mechanics of public administration shaped him into a uniquely global-minded civil servant, one as comfortable navigating the diplomatic corridors of Washington and Delhi as he was advising domestic leaders in Colombo.
In 1954, Weerakoon joined the then Ceylon Civil Service—at a time when the island, newly independent, was grappling with questions of identity, governance, and development. As a young officer, he served in several regional administrations, gaining a ground-level understanding of the island’s diverse populations and development needs.
But it was his appointment as Private Secretary to Prime Minister Sir John Kotelawala that would permanently alter the trajectory of his career. That role became the first of many in which Weerakoon would serve as the trusted right-hand to Sri Lanka’s highest elected leaders.
Over nearly five decades, Weerakoon served under seven Prime Ministers—including S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Dudley Senanayake, J.R. Jayewardene, Ranasinghe Premadasa, and finally Ranil Wickremesinghe—as well as two Presidents, R. Premadasa and Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. His ability to remain apolitical in a highly politicised environment was nothing short of legendary.
Few civil servants in Sri Lanka—or indeed anywhere—have had a ringside seat to so many of their nation’s most consequential events. Weerakoon was in office during the 1956 Sinhala Only Act, the emergence of Tamil nationalist movements, the 1971 JVP Insurrection, the 1983 Black July riots, the rise of the LTTE, the Indo-Lanka Accord, the deployment of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF), and the early peace overtures with the Tamil Tigers in the early 2000s.
In each of these critical moments, Weerakoon’s role was not always in the limelight—but it was often pivotal. Colleagues recall him as the steady hand who maintained the machinery of government even as political leaders changed, tempers flared, and crises unfolded.
In a civil service now often marked by politicisation and institutional decay, Bradman Weerakoon was a reminder of what the role was meant to be: professional, principled, and above all, public-minded.
Beyond his work with political leaders, Weerakoon held numerous senior administrative posts, both locally and internationally. He was involved in several development programmes and policy-planning initiatives that aimed at post-colonial nation-building in Sri Lanka. He also served with the United Nations and international NGOs, focusing on poverty alleviation and social development.
His tenure as Government Agent in multiple districts gave him first-hand knowledge of the challenges of local governance, while his work on youth employment and education reforms was recognised as pioneering. Always a believer in the use of data and evidence in policymaking, Weerakoon frequently advocated for more technocratic governance in Sri Lanka—at a time when such ideas were often drowned out by ideological or ethnic politics.
Though it was his administrative skill that propelled his rise, it was his long service as Secretary to successive Prime Ministers that made him a legend. In that capacity, Weerakoon became both gatekeeper and sounding board, the bridge between the bureaucratic state and political leadership.
He handled everything from Cabinet papers and international diplomacy to managing sensitive political negotiations, all while maintaining what friends and foes alike described as "extreme discretion." He was not known for leaks, gossip, or post-retirement score-settling—although his published memoir Rendering Unto Caesar offered a measured but revealing glimpse into his unparalleled career.
In a country where corruption and patronage often corrode public trust, Weerakoon was widely respected for his incorruptibility. He lived modestly, avoided business entanglements, and never entered partisan politics. For many young civil servants, he remained the gold standard—a man who served with both competence and conscience.
His death has triggered an outpouring of tributes from across the political spectrum. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake described him as “a civil servant of rare wisdom and quiet courage,” while former President Chandrika Kumaratunga said he was “the best among us, a man who never lost faith in the promise of a better Sri Lanka.”
International tributes have also poured in. A senior UN official who once worked with him noted: “Bradman was the kind of civil servant who made government work. In times of chaos, you could always trust him to steer the ship with clarity and calm.”
As Sri Lanka wrestles with a multitude of challenges—from economic collapse to institutional failure—the passing of Bradman Weerakoon serves as a moment for national reflection. What kind of civil service does the country aspire to have? Can a new generation of public servants match the intellectual and ethical calibre of men like Weerakoon?
His legacy is not only one of administrative excellence but of moral clarity. In a political culture too often reduced to the crude binaries of loyalty and betrayal, Weerakoon’s entire life stands as testimony to the enduring power of neutrality, humility, and reason.
He may have been named after the great Australian cricketer Sir Donald Bradman, but in Sri Lanka’s own field of public service, Bradman Weerakoon stood just as tall.
He is survived by his family and a grateful nation.
Sidebar: A Career of Highlights
1954: Joined the Ceylon Civil Service
1955–59: Private Secretary to PM Sir John Kotelawala
1960s–1970s: Government Agent in several districts, including Jaffna and Ampara
1970s: Secretary to Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike
1980s–2000s: Served as Secretary to several Prime Ministers and Presidents
2002: Retired from official service
Author: Rendering Unto Caesar, a widely-read memoir on civil service and politics
Bradman Weerakoon: Civil servant, diplomat, scholar, gentleman. A man who lived—and served—with quiet greatness.
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by (2025-07-07 15:53:41)
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