Daya Ratnayake දයා රත්නායක WWV, RWP, RSP, USP | |
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Nickname(s) | Daya |
Allegiance | Sri Lanka |
Service | Sri Lanka Army |
Years of service | 1981 - 2015 |
Rank | General |
Service number | O/50913 |
Unit | Sri Lanka Light Infantry |
Commands | Commander of the Army, Chief of Staff, Sri Lanka Army |
Battles / wars | Sri Lankan Civil War |
Awards | Weera Wickrama Vibhushanaya, Rana Wickrama Padakkama, Rana Sura Padakkama, Uttama Seva Padakkama, Desha Puthra Padakkama |
Spouse(s) | Priyadarshani Damayanthi |
Other work | Secretary to the Ministry of Industries Chairman, Sri Lanka Ports Authority |
General R. M. Daya Ratnayake, WWV, RWP and three Bars, RSP, USP is a retired Sri Lanka Army officer who served as the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army from 2013 to 2015. Following his retirement from the army, he served as the Chairman, Sri Lanka Ports Authority and Secretary to the Ministry of Industries. [1]
He was educated at Maliyadeva College, Kurunegala.
He started his military career as an officer cadet in 1980 and received his basic training at the Sri Lanka Military Academy. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1981 in the Sri Lanka Light Infantry. He thereafter completed the Commando Officers Course, Infantry Young Officers Course and the Battalion Support Weapon Course. He had completed the Junior Command and Senior Command Courses at the Army War College, Mhow. From January 1993 to January 1996, Ratnayake served as commanding officer of the 6th Battalion, Sri Lanka Light Infantry. He attended the graduated from Defence Service Command and Staff College, Bangladesh; the National Defence University, China and the Army Intelligence School, Fort Huachuca, United States. He has followed the Governance and Management of Defence Course at Cranfield University, UK, Higher Level Security Studies Diploma Course and Advanced Communication Skills Course in Asia-Pacific Centre for Security Studies in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. He commanded the 6th Battalion Sri Light Infantry Regiment. He served as the General Officer Commanding of 23 Infantry Division in the Eastern province. He played important roles in the operations of Liberations of Vakare and Thoppigala. He also held the post of the Commissioner General Rehabilitation for rehabilitation of 12,000 ex-LTTE combatants under the Bureau of the Commissioner General Rehabilitation. His other notable appointments include Commanding Officer of Sri Lanka Military Academy and Director Media and Military Spokesman for the Ministry of Defence. [1] On 1 August 2013, he became the 20th commander of the Sri Lanka Army and promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General simultaneously. [2]
He was succeeded by Lieutenant General Crishantha de Silva in February 2015. [3] The outgoing commander was promoted to the rank of full general by President Maithripala Sirisena. [4]
He was appointed Chairman, Sri Lanka Ports Authority in 2019 by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and in 2021 he was appointed Secretary to the Ministry of Industries. [5] In January 2024, he joined the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) party and was appointed as the party’s senior advisor on state affairs. [6]
He is married to Priyadarshani Damayanthi and has two sons and a daughter. [7]
He got many awards including Weera Wickrema Vibushanaya (WWV), Rana Wickrama Padakkama (RWP) (Awarded four times for Exceptional Gallantry), Rana Sura Padakkama (RSP) (Awarded four times for Gallantry), Uttama Seva Padakkama (USP) (For distinguished conduct) and Desha Puthra Padakkama (DPP) (For wounded in combat). He has been recognized as the most decorated officer to have been made the commander.[ citation needed ]
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The Sri Lanka Signals Corps (SLSC) is a combat support corps of the Sri Lanka Army, responsible for providing military communications, information technology and electronic warfare support. The corps is made up of a signals brigade, ten regular regiments and one volunteer regiment. It is responsible for installing, maintaining and operating all types of telecommunications equipment and information systems. It is headquartered at the Panagoda Cantonment.
The Sri Lanka Light Infantry (SLLI) is the oldest regiment in the Sri Lanka Army and the oldest infantry regiment in the army. It is made up of sixteen regular battalions and nine volunteer battalions, and is headquartered at the Panagoda Cantonment, Panagoda.
The Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment (SLSR) is an infantry regiment of the Sri Lanka Army; it is the second oldest infantry regiment in the army.
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The Gemunu Watch (GW) ("King Dutugemunu's Own") is a infantry regiment of the Sri Lanka Army, formed with troops from the Ceylon Light Infantry and the Ceylon Sinha Regiment in 1962. It has been deployed in many major operations against the LTTE. It is made up of 14 regular units and 9 volunteer units. Headquartered at Kuruwita Army Camp, Ratnapura. It is named after one of the most famous Lankan Kings, King Dutugemunu.
Major General M.C. Mendaka. P. Samarasinghe, RWP, RSP, USP, ndc, psc, SLE was a Sri Lankan general, he was a former Chief of Staff, Sri Lanka Army and also the former Commander Security Forces Headquarters - Jaffna; he was also the General Officer Commanding, 22 Division.
General Shantha H.S. Kottegoda, WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP is a retired senior Sri Lanka Army officer. He was the seventeenth commander of the Sri Lankan Army from 1 July 2004 – 5 December 2005. He had served as the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Brazil and Thailand. In April 2019, following the Easter Sunday bombings he was appointed as the permanent secretary to the Ministry of Defence.
G. D. H. Kamal Gunaratne, WWV, RWP, RSP, USP is a retired Sri Lankan army general. He is the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and the State Ministry of National Security and Disaster Management. A retired career officer of the Sri Lanka Army, Gunaratne had served as the former Commander Security Forces Headquarters - Wanni, general officer commanding (GOC), 53 Division and was a former Deputy Ambassador to Brazil. He was the GOC of the 53 Division which killed the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran at Nandikadal, Mullaitivu.
General Lionel Piyananda Balagalle,, was a senior Sri Lanka Army officer, who served as the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army and the Chief of the Defence Staff. He is known for formalising military intelligence operations within the Sri Lanka Army, having founded the Directorate of Military Intelligence and the Military Intelligence Corps.
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General Gerard Hector "Gerry" de Silva, RWP, VSV, USP was a senior Sri Lanka Army officer. He is the 5th Chancellor of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University since 20 January 2020. He was the 13th Commander of the Sri Lankan Army and Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Pakistan.
Major General Priyanka Fernando, RWP, USP, is a former senior Sri Lanka Army officer. He has served as the Director General of General Staff (DGGS); General officer commanding (GOC), 58 Division; Commandant of the Ranaviru (veterans) Resource Centre; Director of Rehabilitation; and the Director of Real Estate and Quartering. He served as the Colonel of the Regiment of the Mechanized Infantry Regiment and was the Sri Lankan Minister Counsellor (Defence) in London.
Major General Galwaduge Janaka Laksiri Waduge, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, ndu is a retired Sri Lankan army general. He was the 10th Commander Security Forces Headquarters – Central and the former Colonel commandant of Military Intelligence Corps. He retired from active service in 2020 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 55 for Sri Lankan Armed Forces Personnel.
Major General A. K. Sumedha Perera, WWV, RWP, RSP, USP is a retired Sri Lankan general. He is the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Mahaweli, Agriculture, Irrigation and Rural Development; and former Deputy Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army.
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Major General Gamini Hettiarachchi, WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP is a retired Sri Lankan Army officer who served as the Commander, Security Forces Headquarters – East, General Officer Commanding, 21 Division and Brigade Commander, Special Forces Brigade. Having founded the Special Forces Regiment of the Sri Lankan Army, he is known as the "Father of the Special Forces Regiment".
Mohammed Jubayer Salehin SUP, ndu, psc is a major general of the Bangladesh Army. Currently attached in Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Beforehand he served as Director General of Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies. He was adjutant general at army headquarters. Prior to join AG, he was Engineer-in-Chief at the Bangladesh Army. Earlier, he served as commandant of Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC) since 24 January 2021.
Major General K. P. Aruna Jayasekara, WWV, RSP, VSV, USP is a former senior Sri Lanka Army officer and a socialist politician. He has served as the Commander, Security Forces Headquarters – East (2018-2019), Director of Training, Army Headquarters.