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Dr. Warnasena Rasaputram - An appreciation

The Central Bank announces with deep regret, the passing away of Dr. Warnasena Rasaputram, a former governor, a career Central Bank Officer and finally a distinguished diplomat, states a Central Bank press release.

Warnasena Rasaputram joined the Central Bank of Sri Lanka in 1951, at the age of 24, having graduated with honours from the University of Ceylon with a degree in Economics, specializing in Statistics. He was one of the first direct graduate recruits to the Central Bank and his expertise in Economics and Statistics was to reflect very clearly in his work in the Bank. In the late 1950s, he won a Smith-Mundt Scholarship offered by the Institute of International Education and the United States Educational Foundation, and subsequently a Fullbright grant. This enabled him to undertake post-graduate studies in the USA at the University of Wisconisn, where he obtained a Master's Degree in Statistics and a doctorate in Economics. His doctoral thesis "Influence of Foreign Trade on the Level and Growth of National Income of Ceylon" was published by the Central Bank in 1964. He returned to the Bank on completion of his studies and was appointed Director of Economic Research in 1968. In 1971, he was released for service with an ILO team, led by Professor Dudley Seers, to report on the unemployment problem in Sri Lanka. He also served as a United Nations expert in Iraq and in several countries in Asia and the Caribbean. Dr. Rasaputram was appointed Assistant to the Governor in 1974 and Deputy Governor in 1975.

In 1976, he was appointed by the Government of Sri Lanka as Alternative Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund. In February 1979, he was appointed to the high office of the Governor of the Central Bank. He guided the operations of the Bank during a time of great change as Sri Lanka moved from a closed economy to an open market orientation. Dr. Rasaputram has been a scholar, recognised both nationally and internationally, with many publications to his credit. He was a pioneer in forming the South East Asian Central Banking Forum (currently known as The SEACEN Centre) and strengthening regional central bank cooperation in Asia. He also promoted the decentralization of the Central Bank, setting up regional branches in Matara, Anuradhapura and Matale, and was instrumental in establishing the Regional Development Banks. He served as Governor until November 1988, when he relinquished his post to serve as an Ambassador of the Republic of Sri Lanka. To date, he has been the Governor with the longest tenure in office, having served for over 9 years.

In 1988, Dr. Rasaputram was appointed as Ambassador to France. He subsequently served as High Commissioner to Malaysia and the Permanent Representative to the UN Offices in Geneva and Vienna and was Ambassador to the Vatican. He was President of the Disarmament Conference and the Chairman of the Asian Group of Countries in Geneva in 1991. His final posting was as Ambassador to the United States.

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