A short summary of Neville's career

For a short period after graduating from the University of Ceylon Peradeniya in 1953, Neville Jayaweera was an Assistant Lecturer in Philosophy in his university, until he passed into the Ceylon Civil Service in 1955.

Jayaweera served in the Ceylon Civil Service (later renamed Ceylon Administrative Service) from 1955 to 1972, when, at the age of 42 he took early retirement. During those 17 years, Jayaweera held several senior positions under Government.

Among the posts he held while serving the Sri Lankan Government, between 1955 and 1972 were:

1. Assistant Government Agent (AGA) of the Administrative Districts of Ratnapura, Kandy, Badulla and Galle, in that order.

2. Government Agent (GA) of the Administrative Districts of Badulla, Jaffna, Trincomalee and Vavuniya.

Note: A Government Agent (GA) of an Administrative District was the Head and Co-ordinator of the Government's administration of a district. During the 1960s, when Jayaweera served the Government, Sri Lanka was divided into 22 districts.

3. Secretary and General Manager of the Gal Oya Development Board.

The Gal Oya Development Board (GODB) was the largest multi-purpose development project launched by the Government of Sri Lanka up to that time (1960). It covered one quarter of the Island's surface area, and employed over 16,000 workers.

4. Senior Assistant Secretary to the Minister of State (Mr JR Jayawardena).

5. Chairman and Director General of the Ceylon Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

In 1972, at the age of 42, Jayaweera took early retirement from Government.

Thereafter, accepting an invitation from the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC), in London, to work as their Director of Research and Planning, Jayaweera relocated to London with his wife Trixie and daughter Mano, and served in that capacity until 1989. While working in the WACC between 1974 and 1989, Jayaweera also served in the following roles:

• From 1975 to 1982, as a Member of the BBC’s and the ITV's Central Religious Advisory Committee (CRAC) London.

• From 1975-1882, as a Trustee of the International Broadcasting Institute (IBI), later renamed International Institute of Communication (IIC) London.

• From 1980-1989, as the WACC’s Permanent Representative, both to the UNESCO in Paris, as well as to the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) in Geneva.

During his time working in the WACC, between 1975 and 1989 Jayaweera travelled the globe, lecturing on the New Communication Technologies and the Communication Revolution, subjects on which he has written extensively.

He resigned from the WACC in 1989, and resumed his career with the Government of Sri Lanka in 1990.

From 1989-1990, Jayaweera served as Media Advisor to The President of Sri Lanka, His Excellency Ranasinghe Premadasa.

From 1991-1994, Jayaweera served as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the Scandinavian countries, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland.

Jayaweera has also written extensively on Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict, and on spiritual matters.

Since his final retirement in 1994, Jayaweera settled down with his wife Trixie in a village in Kent, UK, where he has been leading a contemplative life, in meditation and prayer, and writing on spiritual subjects.

For a fuller account of Jayaweera’s career, please read the article, “Full career, with in-depth commentaries” available under the “About Neville Jayaweera” menu tab.