Thisuri Wanniarachchi

Thisuri Wanniarachchi () is a Sri Lankan author and public policy specialist. She is known for her book "Colombo Streets", which she began writing when she was fourteen years old and which won a 2009 State Literary Award. She was President Maithripala Sirisena's Assistant Director of Sustainable Development and the youngest political appointee to serve in his administration. Wanniarachchi resigned from her position in the Sirisena Administration in the immediate aftermath of the unconstitutional coup of October 2018. She later served as the Secretary to the President's Expert Committee to Restructure SriLankan Airlines. She is the youngest public official to hold such a post. In 2019 She was appointed as the Lead Analyst of the Ministry of Economic Reforms in the Government of Sri Lanka.
Early life and education.
Wanniarachchi was born on 25 September 1993 to Sri Lankan sociologist and author Malraji Wanniarachchi and Sri Lanka Army Maj. General Sunil Wanniarachchi. She grew up in Colombo during the time of the Sri Lankan Civil War. From pre school to middle school Wanniarachchi attended St. Bridget's Convent and later moved to The British School in Colombo on a full scholarship. She received her BA in Political Science from Bennington College. 
Books.
Wanniarachchi is the author of two books, "Colombo Streets" and "The Terrorist's Daughter". Wanniarachchi wrote "Colombo Streets" when she was fourteen years old. "Colombo Streets" is a story about how children belonging to different social classes experienced the Sri Lankan civil war. The book went on to be a local bestseller and made Wanniarachchi the youngest State Literary Award recipient.
"The Terrorist's Daughter", written by Wanniarachchi during her first year at Bennington College, was launched in Sri Lanka in August 2014. "The Terrorist's Daughter" is a fictional love story. According to "The Nation", Wanniarachchi uses the novel as a platform to discuss, criticize and analyse post-war Sri Lanka's political spectrum.
Political advocacy.
Her open letter in response to Namal Rajapaksa's article for the Colombo Telegraph became a viral sensation in Sri Lanka.
Wanniarachchi is also an advocate for education reform in Sri Lanka. Speaking as the youngest panelist at a discussion for young politicians held in Colombo at a virtual event in collaboration with the 2015 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wanniarachchi stressed on the need for education reform in Sri Lanka.
Dividing her time between university and Sri Lanka in 2014 Thisuri served as intern of the Ministry of Higher Education (Sri Lanka) and later in 2015 served as an Intern to the Presidential Secretariat during President Maithripala Sirisena's first year in office.
Leading Sri Lankan political scientist Dayan Jayatilleka said Wanniarachchi's The Terrorist's Daughter is "one of the most important literary works in post-war Sri Lanka" and suggested that it is a "road map to reconciliation" and a "manifesto" for the Sri Lankan government. The Terrorist's Daughter was nominated for the 2015 State Literary Award.
In 2014, the leading feminist movement Lean In featured Wanniarachchi's story.
Criticism.
Wanniarachchi's received much criticism for her advocacy and writing on the abolition of the death penalty in Sri Lanka, equal rights to LGBTQ Sri Lankans, sex education reform by civil society and lobby groups that oppose her views.