Eran Wickramaratne

Eran Wickramaratne
ඉරාන් වික්‍රමරත්න
இரான் விக்கிரமரத்ன
President of Sri Lanka Cricket
Assumed office
29 April 2026
Preceded byShammi Silva
State Minister of Finance
In office
31 May 2017 – 21 November 2019
PresidentMaithripala Sirisena
Prime MinisterRanil Wickremesinghe
Deputy Minister of State Enterprise Development
In office
4 September 2015 – 31 May 2017
PresidentMaithripala Sirisena
Prime MinisterRanil Wickremesinghe
Deputy Minister of Investment Promotions and Highways
In office
12 January 2015 – 17 August 2015
PresidentMaithripala Sirisena
Prime MinisterRanil Wickremesinghe
Member of Parliament
for National List
In office
2020–2024
In office
2010–2015
Member of Parliament
for Colombo District
In office
2015–2020
Personal details
Born (1957-10-01) 1 October 1957
PartySamagi Jana Balawegaya
(2020 - Present)
United National Party
(2010 - 2020)
SpouseKushlani
ChildrenDhishan, Sohanya
Parent(s)Colton (father), Susanne (mother)
Alma materRoyal College, Colombo
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionBanker

Eran Wickramaratne, (Sinhala: ඉරාන් වික්‍රමරත්න) (Tamil: இரான் விக்கிரமரத்ன) MP is a Sri Lankan banker and politician. He is the former State Minister of Finance and member of Parliament of Sri Lanka.[1] He was the Deputy Minister of Investment Promotions and Highways under 100 days program. He was the CEO of NDB Bank from 2001 to 2010 and a former chairman of the Information Communication Technology Agency (ICTA). He is a member of Samagi Jana Balawegaya.[2]

On 29 April 2026, Wickramaratne was appointed chairman of a nine-member interim committee to manage Sri Lanka Cricket.[3]

Education

Educated at Royal College Colombo, he served as Head Prefect and played on the school cricket team, serving as opening batsman in the Royal–Thomian.[4][5] He gained a BSc in Economics and Politics and an MSc in Economics from the University of London. He is also an Eisenhower Fellow.[6]

Banking career

Having joined Citibank in 1982, he went on to become a vice president in 1996. In 2000, he was involved in founding NDB Bank, where he became CEO in 2001. In 2005, he served as a Director and advisor for Board of Investment (BoI) and later became an adviser to the Ministry of Science & Economic Reform. During this time he was instrumental in the formation of the first Information Communication Act and became the founder chairman of the Information Communication Technology Agency (ICTA). He resigned from his post of CEO of NDB to take up his seat in Parliament in 2010.[2]

Political career

He joined the right of centre United National Party, serving as its treasurer and entered parliament from the National List at the 2010 General Elections. After the election of Maithripala Sirisena, Wickramaratne was appointed as the Deputy Minister of Investment Promotions and Highways in the "good governance" government under the premiership of Ranil Wickremasinghe.[7] He was appointed as the United National Party chief organiser of the Colombo-East electorate before being shifted to the Moratuwa electorate in 2015. In the general election that followed he was elected to parliament from the Colombo district gaining 82,737 votes.[8] In 2015, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Investment Promotions and Highways and in 2017 he was appointed State Minister of Finance, holding office until the appointment in 2019 of a new caretaker cabinet headed by Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Sri Lanka Cricket

On 29 April 2026, Wickramaratne was appointed chairman of a nine-member interim committee (Sri Lanka Cricket Transformation Committee) to manage Sri Lanka Cricket until fresh elections are conducted following the resignation of its president and executive committee earlier that day. The appointment was made by Sunil Kumara Gamage, Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, to address current issues in the sport and implement structural reforms.[9][3]

Family

He is the son of evangelical pastor, Rev. Dr. Colton Wickramaratne (1931–2018), and the brother of Rev. Dishan Wickramaratne. He is married to Kushlani and father to two children, Sohanya and Dhishan.[10]

References

  1. ↑ "New State and Deputy Ministers sworn in". www.adaderana.lk. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  2. 1 2 "The Island-News". www.island.lk. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Ex-MP Eran Wickramaratne appointed chairman of SLC interim committee". Ada Derana. 2026-04-29. Archived from the original on 2026-04-29. Retrieved 2026-04-29.
  4. ↑ Fairclough, Gordon (16 March 2015). "For Sri Lanka's Elite, High-School Cricket Match Is More Than a Game". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 20 April 2018 – via www.wsj.com.
  5. ↑ "Eran Wickremaratne was a fine opening batsman for Royal | Daily News Online : Sri Lanka's National News". Archived from the original on 2015-07-23. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
  6. ↑ Religion to kill or die for The Sunday Leader Archived 2015-07-23 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ "CeylonToday". ceylontoday.lk. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  8. ↑ "Preferential votes- General Election 2015". www.adaderana.lk. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  9. ↑ "SLC President Shammi Silva and Executive Committee resign with effect from today". Ada Derana. 2026-04-29. Archived from the original on 2026-04-29. Retrieved 2026-04-29.
  10. ↑ Weerasooriya, Nayomini. "What Born-Again Politicians Means for South Asia". Charisma News. Retrieved 20 April 2018.