Bernard Tilakaratna, SLOS (1927–2004) was a senior diplomat and bureaucrat of the Sri Lankan government.
He was born on 8 December 1927 in Sri Lanka and schooled at St Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia.
Tilakaratna was in India during the height of the terrorist conflict in Sri Lanka and had to negotiate with the Indian Government on many occasions.
In Thimphu, Bhutan, he attended peace talks with the terrorist organisation, Liberation Tamil Tigers Eelam (LTTE) He was appointed as Foreign Secretary to the Ministry of Sri Lanka, which he served under President Ranasinghe Premadasa.
Esala Weerakoon is the son of another well-known Sri Lankan civil servant,Mr.