Karu Jayasuriya: Leadership beyond office

On 29 September 2025, Karu Jayasuriya will enter his 85th year. This is an occasion not only to honour longevity, but to reflect on a life in which ideals and institutions have been guarded with persistence. Over the decades, public discourse has pointed out precisely the challenges Sri Lanka faced when autocratic leaders threatened the constitutional order and sought to shrink civic space. Today he champions transparency in government, anti-corruption and the need for the devolution of power. His commitments and interventions at times of crisis have been marked by concern for the national interest.

- JEHAN PERERA

Karu Jayasuriya was, and continues to remain, a famous personality in politics. He has been a cabinet minister across governments, and in his last term in parliament was elected Speaker of Parliament. He first earned his place in public esteem as Mayor of Colombo. There he attempted, and in many respects succeeded, in bringing private-sector efficiency into the machinery of local governance, yet without losing sight of the larger picture of service to the people. When the roads needed repair, when garbage had to be cleared, when waste had to be reformed, his tenure showed that urban governance is not merely management but a moral contract with citizens, a contract in which competence and care must walk hand in hand.