Anura Karunathilake was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s new Minister of Energy on Monday afternoon, taking oaths before President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the Presidential Secretariat. He also retains his existing portfolio as Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation, consolidating two major infrastructure ministries under a single cabinet seat.
The appointment marks the first ministerial replacement since the National People’s Power government took office, ending a week of vacancy at the country’s most politically exposed portfolio. Presidential Secretary Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake was present at the ceremony.
Karunathilake succeeds Kumara Jayakody, who resigned last week along with the Energy Ministry Secretary to clear the way for the Presidential Commission of Inquiry examining Sri Lanka’s coal procurement since 2009. Jayakody survived a no-confidence motion 153-49 on April 10 but stepped down days later, citing the need to ensure a transparent investigation into the contested Norochcholai coal contracts.
The combined energy-and-ports portfolio is among the most demanding in cabinet. Sri Lanka is managing a post-Hormuz fuel price shock, reservoir-level pressure on hydropower, and a coal-quality dispute that has triggered both a Commission of Inquiry and a separate CID file referred to the Attorney General. The Ports Ministry is simultaneously handling Trincomalee facility negotiations with Indian and UAE partners.
Karunathilake takes over with Brent crude at around $96 a barrel following the US seizure of the Iran-linked tanker Touska and Tehran’s refusal to resume talks in Islamabad — a combination that has steepened the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation’s imported-crude premiums and renewed public pressure for domestic fuel price adjustments.
The NPP holds 159 seats in the 225-member parliament, giving the president a comfortable majority for the new appointment and any parliamentary votes on pending energy sector reforms.
