The Constitutional Council (CC) has approved the appointment of Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police (SDIG) Priyantha Weerasooriya as the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP).

Weerasooriya was appointed as the Acting IGP by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on 27 September, under the constitutional powers vested in the President. He had received the letter of appointment from the President’s Secretary Dr. Nandika Kumanayake at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo on the same day. 

Prior to this appointment, Weerasooriya served as the SDIG-in-charge of the North Central Province, a position he held since March. Notably, SDIG Weerasooriya is the first officer in the 158-year history of the Police service to rise from the rank of Police Constable to Acting IGP. 

SDIG Weerasooriya has participated in United Nations peacekeeping missions in East Timor and Haiti.