Dimuth Bhashitha Atapattu, an officer of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service (SLAS), has been appointed as the Director General of the Data Protection Authority (DPA) with effect from March 5, 2026.
This appointment of a permanent Director General marks a significant milestone in strengthening Sri Lanka’s personal data protection regime and enforcing the privacy framework established under the Personal Data Protection Act No. 9 of 2022, as amended by Act No. 22 of 2025, the DPA in a statement said.
Welcoming Atapattu, the Board of Directors of the DPA noted that he brings extensive experience from both the public and private sectors, including senior management roles, and will provide leadership to the Authority in advancing its mandate.
“The Board looks forward to working with Mr Atapattu as he leads the DPA in safeguarding the privacy rights of individuals and supporting responsible data-driven innovation,” said the chairman of the DPA, Rajeeva Bandaranaike.
“It is a privilege to lead the Data Protection Authority at this important moment in Sri Lanka’s digital transformation. I am committed to building an effective, independent regulator that upholds the rights of data subjects and supports a secure and trusted digital economy,” the Director General of the DPA, Dimuth Atapattu said.
Prior to this appointment, Atapattu served as the Director in charge of Commercialization and Partnerships of the Ministry of Digital Economy. He serves as Board Director Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) and LK Domain Registry. His previous assignments include the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Motor Traffic, Department of Manpower and Employment. He also served in the private sector at Virtusa in Colombo and the United Kingdom and at Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom.
Dimuth Bhashitha Atapattu is a holder of Bachelor of Computer Science (BCSc) Degree from the University of Colombo School of Computing (UCSC), Masters of Information Systems (MIS) from the University of Melbourne and Masters of Public Administration (MPA) from PIM, University of Sri Jayewardenepura.
Under his leadership, the DPA is expected to be operationalized in the future, to enhance digital trust in Sri Lanka as outlined in the Digital Economy Blueprint of the Government by promoting a secure and responsible personal data governance culture. The PDPA is expected to be brought into operation in phases once the DPA is operationalized. (Newswire)