The Ceylon College of Physicians (CCP) has elected Prof. Namal Wijesinghe as its 50th President to lead the college in 2026.

The CCP is Sri Lanka’s premier professional organisation for specialists in internal medicine and its finer specialities, which currently include cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, nephrology, rheumatology and rehabilitation medicine, neurology, pulmonology, and critical care medicine. 

This non-profit organisation was founded in 1967 with the aim of enhancing medical knowledge, promoting postgraduate education, and ensuring high-quality patient care. The CCP works closely with the Ministry of Health to improve standards of care by developing policies and guidelines.

The college engages in various activities to support the medical community and the public. It holds annual academic sessions and other events to provide continuous professional development opportunities for doctors. Also, the college focuses on promoting research among physicians, especially in tropical medicine and non-communicable diseases. 

Prof. Wijesinghe works as the Professor of Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University. He is also the former Dean of this faculty. 

After his primary and secondary education at Rahula College, Matara and Royal College, Colombo, he graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of the University Ruhuna and had his initial postgraduate training at the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine of the University of Colombo to obtain an MD (Medicine). 

He had advanced training in cardiology in New Zealand to obtain a Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. He also had interventional cardiology training at the St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver. 

Prof. Wijesinghe has also been honoured with a Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians, Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, Fellowship of the Ceylon College of Physicians, Fellowship of the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand, and a Fellowship of the European Society of Cardiology.

He is an accomplished clinician in the field of cardiology, an experienced university academic, a prolific researcher, a talented administrator in medical education, and an experienced journal editor.