Hewa Matara Gamage Siripala Palihakkara (born 1947) is a Sri Lankan civil servant, diplomat and former Governor of Northern Province.

[1][2] He then studied international human rights and humanitarian law at the Raul Wallenberg Institute, Lund University.

[1] He was also Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

[6][7] Palihakkara appointment was criticised because, as Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, he represented the government and defended the actions of the Sri Lankan military during the final months of the civil war when both sides of the conflict are alleged to have committed war crimes.

[8][9][10][11] Newly elected President Maithripala Sirisena appointed Palihakkara Governor of Northern Province on 27 January 2015.