Harsha de Silva
Harsha de Silva is a Sri Lankan economist and politician. He is a Member of Parliament for the Colombo District and former Non-Cabinet Minister of Economic Reforms and Public Distribution; State Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs; and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. He is a member of Samagi Jana Balawegaya.
Early life
He was educated at Royal College Colombo, earning a BS in Business Management from Truman State University in 1988. He completed his MA and PhD in Economics at the University of Missouri in 1993. He participated in an executive program on evaluating social programs at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2006 as an Eisenhower Fellow.Banking career
As an economist he worked for the DFCC Bank, becoming its chief economist and treasurer. He was co-founder and Joint Managing Director of The Nielsen Company.He was placed in charge of "Economic Diplomacy" of the government and was a supporter of economic liberalization and trade agreements. He is a supporter of major trade agreements and is a supporter of Sri Lanka joining the Trans Pacific Partnership.
He was the main backer of the Indian-aided project to create a modern EMT and Ambulance service in Sri Lanka. When India offered a gift to Sri Lanka in order to mark Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's visit, De Silva proposed an emergency medical service after personal experiences with shortcomings in the Sri Lankan system as well the urging of doctors. Wickremesinghe also backed it, leading India's GVK Emergency Response Institute to offer training to hundreds of Sri Lankan EMTs and Paramedics as well as donating ambulances and granting 7.5 million dollars to start the service in Colombo and Galle.
Political career
United National Party
De Silva was appointed as a National List Member of Parliament on 22 April 2010, serving until 26 June 2015. During this period, he served in the opposition, critiquing the economic policies of the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration. He became known for his commentary on economic development and international affairs through media appearances and public discussions.Government (2015-2019)
In the 2015 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, de Silva contested under the UNP and was elected as MP for the Colombo District with 114,148 preferential votes on 17 August. He served in the National Unity Government under Maithripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremesinghe. Key appointments included:- Deputy Minister of Policy Planning and Economic Development, contributing to the government's initial 100-day program.
- Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, overseeing international economic diplomacy.
- State Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs, supervising economic policy initiatives.
- Minister of Economic Reforms and Public Distribution, advocating trade liberalisation and integration into international economic frameworks.
Samagi Jana Balawegaya
In March 2020, de Silva joined the Samagi Jana Balawegaya, a UNP splinter party led by Sajith Premadasa. He was re-elected as MP for Colombo District in the 2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election.During this period:
- Served as Chairman of the Committee on Public Finance, with intermittent reappointments in 2023 and 2024.
- Participated in the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Finance, Economic Stabilisation and National Policies from March 2024.
- Raised concerns regarding irregularities in cigarette taxation policies in 2023.