Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe

Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe
President of the United Nations General Assembly
In office
1976–1976
Preceded byGaston Thorn
Succeeded byLazar Mojsov
High Commissioner for Ceylon to India
In office
1963–1966
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime MinisterSirimavo Bandaranaike
Preceded byRichard Aluwihare
Succeeded bySiri Perera
Personal details
Born18 March 1913
Colombo, Ceylon
Died4 December 1980(1980-12-04) (aged 67)
Sri Lanka
NationalitySri Lankan
Alma materUniversity of London,
University College Colombo,
Royal College, Colombo
OccupationDiplomat, Civil servant

Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe, CCS (18 March 1913 – 4 December 1980) was a Sri Lankan diplomat and civil servant. He was High Commissioner to India and concurrently Ambassador to both Nepal and Afghanistan (1963–1967) and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Treasury and the Ministry of Health. Amerasinghe served as Ceylon's Permanent Representative to the United Nations 1967 to 1980 and served as President of the United Nations General Assembly in 1976. He was also one of the leaders of the negotiations to draft the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Amerasinghe was the close cousin of famed Sri Lankan nation builder Samson Felix Amarasinghe,OBE, (correct spelling Amerasinghe).They were close allies throughout his life.