Mrs. Wijayatilake, a lawyer by profession, joined the public service in January 1974 as a Legal Assistant to the Supreme Court and served as Assistant Secretary (Legal), Senior Assistant Secretary (Legal) and Additional Secretary (Legal) in the legal division of the Ministry of Justice from October 1974. She also held the post of Secretary of the State Ministry of Justice and Secretary to the Project Ministry of Legal and Prison Reforms before being appointed as Secretary to the Ministry of Justice in July 1994.
Mrs. Wijayatilake was appointed to the post of Secretary, Ministry of Plan Implementation with effect from July 1 st , 2006.
Her appointment as Secretary to the Ministry of Justice in July 1994 marked a milestone for women in that she was the first woman to be appointed a Secretary to a Cabinet Ministry in the history of the Public Service of Sri Lanka.
During her service of over 32 years in the Ministry of Justice Mrs. Wijayatilake has been instrumental in giving leadership to a law reform programme which saw important legal interventions being made in the area of women and children, Alternative Dispute Resolution with particular emphasis on Mediation, and new crimes including Money Laundering and computer crime. She is currently a member of the Law Commission of Sri Lanka.
She also functioned as an Editor of the Ministry publications "Justice" (1983.- 1985) and the Human Rights Newsletter (2002/3) and the Sri Lanka Law Reports.
She has represented the country at several international Meetings and Conferences and led the country delegation to defend Sri Lanka's Report before the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1992 and 2002.
Mrs. Wijayatilake is married to Lakshman Wijayatilake, Attorney-at-Law and has a daughter and son.
