General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Anuruddha Leuke Ratwatte (14 July 1938 – 24 November 2011), frequently referred to as Anuruddha Ratwatte, was a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

n soldier and politician. He was a

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

and Deputy Minister of Defence.

Early life

Born in

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

to the old Radala

Ratwatte family Ratwatte may refer to: *Anuruddha Ratwatte (1938–2011), Sri Lankan soldier and politician *Barnes Ratwatte (1883–1957), Ceylonese colonial-era legislator and a headman *Barnes Ratwatte II (1918–2004), Sri Lankan lawyer and judge * Charitha Ra ...

, he was the sixth of nine children born to Harris Ratwatte Dissawa and Mallika Katugaha Kumarihamy. A colonial era politician, Harris Ratwatte was a member of the

State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...

in 1936 to 1947 for

Kegalle Kegalle ( si, කෑගල්ල; ta, கேகாலை) is a large town in Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. It is located on the Colombo–Kandy road, approximately from Colombo and from Kandy. It is the main town in the Kegalle District ...

and

United National Party The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Mawanella Mawanella is a town which belongs to the Kegalle district in the Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. It lies between Kegalle and Kadugannawa along the Colombo-Kandy road. The area consists of four administrative areas, namely Mawanella, Aranayak ...

1947 to 1952 Anuruddha Ratwatte was educated at Trinity College, Kandy, where he played rugby for his school. Following his schooling, he volunteered in the Central Ceylon Youth Council, serving as the administrator of the Council office and library in Kandy in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He gained a commission as a volunteer officer in the rank of

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the 2nd (V) Battalion,

Ceylon Sinha Regiment The Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment (SLSR) ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා සිංහ රෙජිමේන්තුව ''Śrī Laṃkā Sinha Rejimēnthuva'') is an infantry regiment of the Sri Lanka Army; it is the second oldest infantry re ...

(2CSR) based in Kandy under the command of Colonel

S. D. Ratwatte Colonel Sooriyaratne Douglas Ratwatte, ED was a Sri Lankan army officer. He was the Commandant of the Volunteer Force. Born in to a prominent Radala family in Kandy, Ratwatte as educated at Trinity College, Kandy. He joined the Ceylon Defence ...

. In 1960, his cousin Sirima Ratwatte Bandaranaike became prime minister. He received military training in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand in 1961. When not mobilized for active service, Ratwatte served as the ''Acting''

Diyawadana Nilame Diyawadana Nilame is the office of the chief lay custodian of the Temple of the Tooth, Kandy, Sri Lanka. Formerly an office of the royal household, at present it is the trustee for the Temple of the Tooth as defined by the ''Buddhist Temporal ...

(Chief lay Custodian) of the Sri Dalada Maligawa, Kandy during his father's tenure as Diyawadana Nilame and was a former Basnayake Nilame (Lay Custodian) of the

Natha Devale, Kandy The Nàtha Devàla is a shrine located on the terrace, in front of the Royal Palace complex in Kandy. It is said to have been in existence even before the Tooth Relic was brought to Kandy. The oldest extant structure in Kandy, it is said to have ...

Early political career

Anuruddha Ratwatte entered local government politics having been elected as a Municipal Councillor in the

Kandy Municipal Council The Kandy Municipal Council (Sinhala language, Sinhala: මහනුවර මහ නගර සභා ''Mahanuwara Maha Nagara Sabha'') is the Politics of Sri Lanka#Local government structure, local council for Kandy, the second largest city and ...

in 1966, from his father's party the

. In the late 1960s, he crossed over to the

Sri Lanka Freedom Party The Sri Lanka Freedom Party ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂය, translit=Śrī Laṁkā Nidahas Pakṣaya; ta, இலங்கை சுதந்திரக் கட்சி, translit=Ilaṅkai Cutantirak Ka� ...

, led by his cousin

Sirima Bandaranaike Sirima Nicole Wiratunga (14 February 1964 – 7 December 1989), known simply by her first name Sirima, was a singer who sang in English and French. She was primarily known for her duet " Là-bas", recorded in 1987 with Jean-Jacques Goldman, which w ...

and became the Sri Lanka Freedom Party Chief Organizer for the Sengkadagala Electorate, contesting the 1970 general election from the Sengkadagala Electorate. Although his party won a landslide victory, he was defeated by

Noel Wimalasena Deshamanya Noel Wimalasena (23 March 1914 – 5 May 1994) was a Sri Lankan lawyer, politician and the first Governor of Sabaragamuwa. Early life and education Nanediri Wimalasena was born on 23 March 1914 in Kandy, Sri Lanka. He attended An ...

of the

in the Senkadagala electorate.

Field Security Detachment

In 1971, he was promoted to the rank of

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in the Ceylon Army Volunteer Force and was appointed

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of the Field Security Detachment, which was tasked with internal security. Prime Minister Sirima Bandaranaike was worried of a possible threat to the government from army officers loyal to the opposition political parties with her prior experience in the 1962 attempted coup d'état. Captain Denzil Kobbekaduwa, under Ratwatte's command reported a potential threat to the government by the

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP; ) is a Marxist–Leninist communist party and a former militant organization in Sri Lanka. The movement was involved in two armed uprisings against the government of Sri Lanka: once in 1971 (SLFP), and anot ...

(JVP) which was preparing for an armed revolt. On 5 April 1971, the JVP attacked several police stations in a premature start to its planned insurrection. That evening, after police captured a group of JVP members who were planning to kidnap Prime Minister Bandaranaike from her private residence,

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Sepala Attygalle and Lieutenant Colonel Ratwatte briefed Bandaranaike and escorted her to the Prime Minister's official residence Temple Trees, which became the operations center coordinating the counter-insurgency activity of the Ceylonese government. Field Security Detachment was tasked with the security of the Prime Minister and Temple Trees. Ratwatte retired the Army in the late 1970s.

Kandy Municipal Council

Ratwatte, as Sri Lanka Freedom Party Chief Organizer for the Sengkadagala Electorate again contested the 1977 general election from the Sengkadagala Electorate and lost to

Shelton Ranaraja Shelton Ranaraja ( si, ෂෙල්ටන් රණරාජා; 3 November 1926 – 11 August 2011) was a Sri Lankan lawyer, politician and deputy minister. Early life and family Ranaraja was born on 3 November 1926 in Ranwala near Kegalle ...

of the

. He then contested and was elected to the Kandy Municipal Council in 1979 and served until 1986, during which time he became the leader of the opposition in the Kandy Municipal Council.

Parliament

In February 1989, he entered parliament having been appointed to it by the

National List The National List ( he, רשימה ממלכתית, ''Reshima Mamlakhtit''), sometimes translated as the State List, was a political party in Israel. Despite being founded by David Ben-Gurion, one of the fathers of the Israeli left, the party is ...

from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and sat in the opposition. In the 1994 general election, he was elected to parliament from the

Kandy District Kandy District ( si, මහනුවර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය, ta, கண்டி மாவட்டம்) is a district of the Central Province of Sri Lanka. Its area is 1906.3 km². Administrative divisions Ethnic ...

from the Freedom Party and was appointed by

Chandrika Kumaratunga Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga ( si, චන්ද්‍රිකා බණ්ඩාරනායක කුමාරතුංග, ta, சந்திரிகா பண்டாரநாயக்க குமாரதுங்க; born 29 Ju ...

, his niece as

for Power and Energy; and Deputy Defense Minister. While Kumaratunga held the portfolio of Minister of Defense.

Cabinet Minister and Deputy Defence Minister

Becoming Kumaratunga's chief defense adviser, Lt. Colonel Ratwatte became the de facto defence minister once hostilities in the Sri Lankan Civil War commenced following the

Bombing of SLNS Sooraya and SLNS Ranasuru The bombing of SLNS ''Sooraya'' and SLNS ''Ranasuru'' was an attack carried out on 19 April 1995 by LTTE suicide frogmen of the Sea Tigers, who attacked and sank two Sri Lanka Navy gun boats moored in the harbor of Trincomalee, Sri Lanka by ...

which started the Eelam War III in April 1995. The government felt betrayed by the LTTE in its earlier peace talks and looked into defeating the LTTE militarily. Ratwatte strongly advocated the recapture of the LTTE controlled Jaffna peninsula. Although symbolically important, the Army Commander

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Gerry De Silva refused to deploy troops to recapture the Jaffna peninsula due to the need for large troop numbers to defend it from the LTTE that would withdraw to the jungles of Wanni. De Silva was overruled and planning commenced under

Rohan Daluwatte General Rohan De Silva Daluwatte, WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP (9 May 1941 – 27 August 2018) was a senior officer of the Sri Lanka Army. He served as Commander of the Sri Lanka Army and Chief of the Defence Staff. Following his retirement fr ...

for Operation Riviresa. Launched in late 1995, Operation Riviresa under Daluwatte recapture of the Jaffna peninsula, but failed to cut off LTTE units that withdrew to the jungles of Wanni. The recapture of Jaffna was well celebrated and Ratwatte who oversaw it as deputy defence minister; was promoted to the rank of

by President Chandrika Kumaratunga in 1995 and was awarded the Riviresa Campaign Services Medal. The following year the government faced a major defeat in the Battle of Mullaitivu in which it lost an entire brigade and was forced to withdraw from Mullaitivu. Government forces responded by recapturing the strategic town of

Kilinochchi Kilinochchi ( ta, கிளிநொச்சி, translit=Kiḷinocci; si, කිලිනොච්චි, translit=Girānika) is the main town of Kilinochchi District, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Kilinochchi is situated at the A9 road som ...

. Having the burden of defending the Jaffna peninsula and no land route to resupply, Ratwatte initiated Operation Jayasikurui in 1997; it failed to achieve its primary objective of gaining a land route to the Jaffna peninsula and was called off by President Kumaratunga in 1999. This led to his falling out of favour with President Kumaratunga, who established the post of Chief of the Defence Staff to reduce Ratwatte's influence over the operational matters of the military. He remained a Cabinet Minister until his party was defeated in the 2001 general elections.

Later life

Ratwatte was re-elected to Parliament in 2000 and 2001, however, he retired from politics in 2004, facing fraud and criminal charges against him since the early 2000s. He died on 24 November 2011 at the Kandy General Hospital following complications of a fall he sustained in his home. A statue of him was built in the Kandy City Center in 2013.

Family

He married Carman Rangala, the Librarian of the Youth Council Library in 1967. Their eldest son Lohan is a Minister and Member of Parliament representing the Kandy District and second son

Mahendra Mahendra is a Sanskrit compound word deriving from Maha (Highest position) and Indra Deva (the King of Gods) from Hindu mythology.{{Citation needed, date=April 2022 It has been used in compound royal styles. History and politics Royalty * M ...

is the former Mayor of Kandy.

Decorations

During his service as an volunteer officer from 1960 to 1977, he received the

Republic of Sri Lanka Armed Services Medal The Republic of Sri Lanka Armed Services Medal was awarded to members of the regular and volunteer forces of the Military of Sri Lanka who were in service on 22 May 1972, subject to recommendation by the commanders of the respective service com ...

in 1972 and the Sri Lanka Army 25th Anniversary Medal in 1974. During his tenure as Deputy Defense Minister from 1994 to 2000, he received the Riviresa Campaign Services Medal in 1996,

Purna Bhumi Padakkama The Purna Bhumi Padakkama ( Sinhala: පූර්ණ භූමි පදක්කම ''pūrna bhūmi padakkama'') was a service medal awarded by the Military of Sri Lanka The Sri Lanka Armed Forces is the overall unified military of the Democ ...

in 1996 and the

50th Independence Anniversary Commemoration Medal The 50th Independence Anniversary Commemoration Medal ( Sinhala: ස්වර්ණ ජයන්ති පදක්කම ''swarna jayanthi padakkama'') was a military decoration awarded by the Military of Sri Lanka The Sri Lanka Armed Forces ...

in 1998.