The 10^th death anniversary of Deshamanya Cyril Herath falls on the 8^th of September this year. It is my view that he was a peerless leader who deserves to be remembered, emulated, and revered.

I was the General Manager, Director, and Executive Director of the National Savings Bank, when Mr Herath was Chairman. While I am deeply grateful to Mr Herath for appointing me to these positions, I must say that it was the most rewarding, productive, and life-changing period of my banking career that gave me immense pleasure, satisfaction, and pride to work under a great leader of the calibre of Mr. Herath. Despite the fact that he was my boss and his eminent standing in this country, he was like an elder brother with whom I maintained a very intimate relationship until his death.

Deshamanya Cyril Herath studied at St. John’s College, Nugegoda and Royal College, and graduated from the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya. In 1957 he joined the Police service as an ASP and in 1985 he was appointed as Inspector General of Police. He was Chairman of National Savings Bank from, 1994 to 2002 and 2004 to 2005.

He also held the following positions: Director General of Directorate of Internal Intelligence (DII) at the Ministry of Defence, Defence Secretary, and National Security Advisor.

Most of the new generation in the Sri Lanka Police service and the banking sector may not know about this peerless leader who was responsible for the phenomenal transformation of NSB.

=He possessed leadership qualities such as integrity, humility, intellect, pragmatism, communication ability, and empathy. Above all, he walked the talk and was fearless; he was every inch a leader.

=Believe it or not, he queued up with other employees (including the lowest grade of employees) every morning and waited for his turn to enter the lift to proceed to his office which was on the sixth floor. This shows his humility, and it is unthinkable for Chairman, NSB, to do so.

=He was humble, approachable, and any employee could meet him on Wednesdays without an appointment to have their grievances redressed.

=He believed in empowering staff and gave them a great deal of freedom

=He never raised his voice when speaking to subordinates and was always conscious of their self-respect.

=At bank parties, he and his wife went round and spoke to each and every staff member and sang and danced with them.

=Ostentation, which is now the order of the day, was anathema to him. His official vehicle was an unostentatious car (Mitsubishi Lancer and later a Honda Civic). And when travelling abroad, he travelled Economy class (unless of course it was upgraded by the airline at no extra cost.)

=He could effectively communicate both in English and Sinhalese, and he always conducted himself with dignity and decorum.

=His humane qualities motivated the staff to contribute towards taking the bank forward. One good example is that he reinstated several employees who were unfairly dismissed or victimised as well as those who were deprived of their pensions. Like most other heads of organisations, he never washed his hands off saying that they happened before his tenure and therefore he was not responsible.

=He took up the challenge posed by the World Bank in their report to the Sri Lanka government in the mid-nineties stating that there is no justification for continuing the operations of NSB, and therefore its branches should be sold by auction to private and foreign banks. Mr Herath, the top management, and staff were infuriated by these unwarranted, imbecilic, and humiliating remarks. However, he with the support of the CEBU and the top management proved the World Bank wrong and transformed the bank as a stable, profitable, and customer-oriented modern bank. The secret was his singular leadership. (I wrote about this in detail in my tribute published in the newspapers on his 5^th death anniversary)

Deshamanya Cyril Herath will therefore go down in history as the epitome of a great ` leader who was responsible for the dramatic and stupendous transformation of NSB. The only way I can describe him is by saying that he was a great, noble human being, and a peerless leader. This is not only my opinion but universal as you would see from a few sentences I quote from the The Retired Senior Police Officers Association in a statement issued following his death, with due acknowledgement.

“He was a role model for his honesty, and integrity. This was a valiant attempt, firing the first shot to maintain the independence of the Police and retired prematurely at the age 54 years and 10 months against undue political interference. He was known for clear thinking and a knack of presenting his ideas forcefully and convincingly and was fearless in expressing his opinion and most of all had a very strong backbone. He never feared to do what he thought was right and he never avoided or neglected his duty. He was also very forthright in his views and never hesitated to push them forward. He was quite open in trying stamp out corruption in any form. An absolute gentleman in all his dealings, he was an excellent brother officer and companion. No one could ask for a better friend, and to all others he was an officer and a Gentleman. He stood for justice and fair play and had the courage to stand by his convictions. He was a source of encouragement and inspiration to the offices and the subordinates. He was always held in high esteem among his superiors, peers, junior, and subordinates.”

I would also like to quote from a letter sent by Mr Tilak Fernando (I don’t know him) to a newspaper which endorses my views on Mr Herath

PROMPT ACTION BY NSB CHAIRMAN

A few days ago, I wrote to the Chairman, National Savings Bank (NSB) Cyril Herath to bring to his notice certain shortcomings at the NSB.

The letter was posted by me during the weekend and to my surprise on Tuesday morning around 9 a.m. I received a telephone call from Chairman Herath.

The Chairman thanked me for bringing the shortcomings to his notice which he said would be taken up with the senior managers. I am happy that there are persons such as Herath at the top of these government institutions. Usually when some shortcoming is pointed out the management either finds excuses or justifies what was done. I wish there are at least a few more officers such as Herath in the state and corporation sector.

Another point I wish to make is that the Chairman is at his desk by 9 a.m* whereas some heads of Corporations are having breakfast in their homes, at this time.

Tilak Fernando
Colombo 6

* With due respect to Mr Fernando, I need to correct the time as 8.30 am

I have no doubts that Mr Herath’s children, Arjuna, Sanjaya, Priyanthika, and Dishan will follow the footsteps of their beloved father. Furthermore, on behalf of the people of Sri Lanka, I wish to express our gratitude to former President, Madam Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga for appointing the ideal leader to head the National Savings Bank.

I think it is appropriate to mention about his beloved wife, Mrs Ranee Herath who passed away within one year of his death. She was a gracious and virtuous lady who made it possible for Mr Herath to fully concentrate on coping with challenges of his job. She graced all events and ceremonies of the bank, mixed with the staff who adored her. Her presence created a great deal of goodwill among staff that was a significant factor which made it possible for NSB to move to greater heights.

I am deeply grateful to you dear Sir, for your affection, the lessons I learnt from you, and for changing my life. Beloved Sir, on behalf of all the employees of NSB, past and present, I wish you and Mrs Herath peace and serenity in your sojourn in samsara.

NBSB Balalle