He is the former Permanent secretary of the Ministry of Mass Media and Information in Sri Lanka and former chairman of the Central Environment Authority.

He was appointed as the permanent secretary to the Ministry of Media, Information and Digital Infrastructures in two occasions, (2012–2015) and (2017).

Herath holds a bachelor's degree in Philosophy with a minor in Psychology from the University of Peradeniya and a Post Graduate Degree in Social and Political Psychology from Ohio University, Athens, Ohio in USA.

In 1998 he completed a Master's Diploma at the Sichuan Union University, in Chengdu, China.

[9][10][11] Herath was appointed as the chairman of the Central Environment Authority in May 2010 and served until 12 July 2012.