Draft:Anna Weerakoon Karunatilleke

Anna Weerakoon Karunatilleke (born; March 12, 1988) was Sri Lanka's first female Marine engineer. She was the first woman professionally employed as a marine engineer in Sri Lanka. She was also the first female to hold a Class III Engineering Licence in Sri Lanka.

Early Life and Education

An only child, Anna Weerakoon Karunatilleke was born to Senior lecturer Dr A.D.W Karunatilleke and Tatiana Goloshapova on March 12th, 1988, in Moscow, Russia. She studied in Sri Lanka from the young age of 6 years. She gained her maritime education in CINEC (Colombo International and Nautical Colledge) in 2009, and graduated in 2013. She then entered PIM (Postgraduate Institute of SriJayawardhanapura) and completed her MBA (Master in Business Administration). 

Professional Career

She worked onboard a ship in the capacity of a marine engineer and was the first woman to be sent onboard from Sri Lanka to work on foreign vessels in this capacity. 

Personal Life Anna Weerakoon Karunatilleke married Lalaka K Gonagala, the eldest son of Mr and Mrs Gonagala on 11 July 2013.