Mr. Upali Herath 

Cooperative Leader

Mr. Upali Herath is a veteran cooperative leader and development expert with over 45 years of service in the cooperative sector in Sri Lanka and abroad. He has held several key positions, including Cooperative Registrar, Chief Executive Officer of the National Cooperative Council of Sri Lanka, and Principal of the National Cooperative College. Over the years, he has also served as Regional Advisor on Human Resource Development and Consumer Cooperation at the ICA Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Country Director of the Swedish Cooperative Centre for Sri Lanka, and Team Leader of the UNDP/ABGEP Project on the Rehabilitation of Cooperatives in Sri Lanka. In addition, he has worked as Consultant to the ILO in Colombo, Managing Director of the Cooperative Insurance Company of Sri Lanka, and as a member of the Presidential Commission on the Cooperative Movement in Sri Lanka. Mr. Herath’s leadership and policy expertise have played a pivotal role in advancing cooperative education, institutional reform, and the promotion of people-centred economic development.