Secretary General of Parliament
The Secretary General of Parliament is the Chief Executive Officer
of the Parliament and is appointed by the President with the
approval of the Constitutional Council. The Office of the Secretary
General of Parliament is a constitutionally protected post.
One of the main functions of the Secretary General of Parliament
is to advice the Speaker and other Presiding Officers on matters
relating to Parliamentary procedure, constitutionality of Bills,
Standing Orders, privileges and any other matters concerning
the functioning of the Parliament. The Secretary General of
Parliament is assisted by the Deputy Secretary General of Parliament
and the Assistant Secretary General of Parliament in carrying
out his/her responsibilities. The Secretary General is also
the Chief Administrator and Accounting Officer of the Parliament.
The staff of the Secretary General of Parliament is appointed
by the Secretary General with the approval of the Speaker. The
Secretary General or his/her nominee functions as Secretary
to all Committees established by the Parliament.
About the Current Secretary General
The post of Secretary General of Parliament is currently vacant and Mr. Dhammika Kitulgoda, a former Secretary General of Parliament has been appointed to act from 02.04.2008 by His Excellency the President. Mr. Kitulgoda is also the Secretary to the Constitutional Council of Sri Lanka. He has the distinction of being the first person to hold this post.
Prior to this, from February 1999 to August 2002, he was the Secretary General of Parliament of Sri Lanka. Mr. Kitulgoda is the first Judicial Officer to be appointed as the Secretary General of Parliament, and he successfully functioned in this position under three Speakers from governments lead by two different political parties before being appointed as the Secretary to the Constitutional Council. He was able to win the confidence and the respect of members on both sides of the house because of his independence and impartiality.
The highlight of Mr. Kitulgoda’s professional career is the 19 years he spent with the Sri Lanka Judiciary. Having joined in 1980, he served in many parts of the island as a magistrate and later as a District Judge, until he was appointed to the prestigious position of Secretary to the Judicial Services Commission in 1998. As a Judge, Mr. Kitulgoda was well known for his ability to dispense justice expeditiously. During his tenure as Secretary to the Judicial Services Commission, he ardently pursued his commitment to the reduction of laws delays and he managed to obtain the assistance of international donors in this regard. The USAID supported Judges Training Programme was a landmark achievement on which subsequent training programmes have been formulated. He strategically used visits to other judiciaries to enhance his knowledge as a judicial educator and the judicial mentoring programme was the result of one such initiative.
Mr.Kitulgoda was actively involved with the Commonwealth Magistrates’ and judges’ association where he served as an executive committee member and later as the vice president.
Mr. Kitulgoda is married and has two daughters. His wife, Dhammikä, is also an Attorney-at-law employed by a leading bank in Sri Lanka as a Senior Legal Officer.
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