Satya Rodrigo, Ambassador-designate to the Republic of Italy

Mr. Satya Rodrigo assumed duties as the Ambassador-designate to the Republic of Italy in Rome on 4^th July 2024. He is a career diplomat of Sri Lanka, having joined the Sri Lanka Foreign Service in July 1998.

Prior to his appointment he was the Director General of the Latin America & the Caribbean Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, from 15^th March 2023 to 2^nd July 2024. He was the Director General of the Southeast Asia Division from November 2021 to 14^th March 2023 handling ASEAN States and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). He was the Co-Chair (Sri Lanka) of the ARF ISM on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament for the period (2022-2023) and chaired the 13^th ARF ISM on NPD, Session on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and chaired the 14^th ARF ISM on NPD hosted by Sri Lanka from 16^th – 17^th May 2023.

His previous overseas assignments were: Deputy Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka at the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in New York (from July 2018 to October 2021, covering work related to First, Fourth and Sixth Committees at the United Nations, as well as General Assembly and Security Council matters; and Member (Sri Lanka) of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories, for the period 2018 to 2021, which included field missions for the preparation of the Reports of the Special Committee from 2018 to 2021); Minister Counsellor & Alternate Representative at the Sri Lanka Permanent Mission & Embassy in Vienna, Austria (covering work related to the International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA); UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO); the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) and the UN Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC); where he also served as the Chairman of Asia Group Task Force for a period of 8 months and was responsible for coordination of Asian Group work at the UN in Vienna for resident missions, preparation of Group statements and positions on multilateral issues with regard to UNIDO, IAEA, UNODC & CTBTO matters; negotiating on behalf of Asian Group, for the Group’s proposal that was adopted and approved by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, to improve and revitalize the work of the Commission; Alternate Member of the UNIDO Staff Pension committee for the Asian Group, elected for two terms; and covering bilateral relations with Austria and 8 concurrent accreditations in the region); and Second and First Secretary at the Sri Lanka High Commission in Pretoria, South Africa (with concurrent accreditation to 7 SADC countries).

At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, he has served as the Director General of the Public Communications Division, Director General of the Overseas Sri Lankans Division, and in various capacities in the United Nations & Multilateral Affairs Division, and the South Asia and SAARC Division.

Mr. Rodrigo’s educational qualifications include Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the City University of New York (CUNY), and Postgraduate Diploma in International Studies from the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna. He also pursued an LLM in International Studies from the University of Vienna.

He was a student at St. Thomas’ Preparatory School, Colombo, Sri Lanka; United Nations International School (UNIS), New York; International School of Geneva (Ecolint); and the Overseas School of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

As a photography enthusiast, he has been a member of the Photographic Society of America (PSA) and continues to be a member of the Photographic Society of Sri Lanka (PSSL), and the Streets of Colombo (SOC) collective of photographers. He has been awarded FIAP and GPU Chairs Choice Gold Medals and Monochrome Photography Awards at several international photographic salons in 2022. He was featured in the Yearbook of 100 Photographers from China and Sri Lanka (2023) which showcased photographers from China and Sri Lanka in commemoration of the 66^th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.