Sri Lanka, Feb. 28 -- Renowned Sri Lankan civil servant and Politician Ronald Joseph Godfrey de Mel known as Ronnie de Mel passed away yesterday (27), at the age of 98.

He was the Cabinet Minister of Finance from 1977 to 1988 in the United National Party government and was instrumental in the establishment of the free market economy in Sri Lanka. He was a Member of Parliament from the Matara District in the Sri Lankan Parliament until 2004. He had served as a Senior Advisor to the President.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Daily News Sri Lanka....