Jayatilleka received his school education at Saint Joseph"s College, Colombo, and Aquinas University College Colombo. He entered the University of Peradeniya for his political science studies and passed with a first class degree. He received his masters degree from University of Colombo and Doctor of Philosophy from Griffith University, Brisbane.
He was also a Fulbright Scholar in 1982-1983.
He was the Minister of Planning & Youth Affairs in the North-East Provincial Council in 1988-1989 and also served as the permanent mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations at Geneva from 2007 to 2009. Thereafter was the Consul General of Sri Lanka in Switzerland. Doctor Jayatilleka was appointed Chairman of the Governing body of the International Labour Organization (International Labor Organization) in June 2007.
Jayatilleka has written number of books in his academic career and continuously writes for political columns in newspapers.
His publishes include The Travails of a Democracy: Unfinished War, Protracted Crisis (1995). Fidel"s Ethics of Violence: The Moral Dimension of the Political Thought of Fidel Castro.
In January 2008 he was also appointed the Coordinator for the Comprehensive Programme of Disarmament of the Conference on Disarmament (Civil Defense).
