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 ...

Chandrika Srilal Weerasooriya, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP was a senior

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 army officer. He was the 15th Commander of the Sri Lankan Army and a former Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Pakistan.

Early life and education

Weerasooriya was educated at

S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia , motto_translation = Be Thou Forever , song = Thomian Song , athletics = Yes , sports = Yes , nickname = Thora , denomination = Anglican , patron ...

. He is Arnolis Weerasooriya's great-grand nephew and a member of the Weerasooriya family of Dodanduwa and

Hikkaduwa Hikkaduwa is a small town on the south coast of Sri Lanka located in the Southern Province, about north-west of Galle and south of Colombo. Etymology The name Hikkaduwa is thought to have been derived from the two words ''Sip Kaduwa'', with ' ...

Military career

He joined the Ceylon Army in 1963 as a Cadet officer and attended the

Pakistan Military Academy Pakistan Military Academy ( ur, ), also referred to by its acronym PMA. PMA is an officers training school located near Kakul village in the city and district of Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa established in 1947. It is the sole service academy ...

. On his return to Ceylon in 1965, he was commissioned as a

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 4th Field Artillery Regiment,

Ceylon Artillery The Sri Lanka Artillery (SLA) is the artillery arm of the Sri Lanka Army. It is made up of ten regular regiments and two volunteer regiments. The SLA is headquartered at Panagoda Cantonment, Panagoda. The emblem of the SLA is modeled after that ...

. He later qualified as an Instructor Gunnery (IG). Promoted to

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 ...

, he went on to serve as the

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 ...

, 4th Field Artillery Regiment from March 1985 to March 1987. He was the Brigade Commander of the Artillery Brigade from November 1991 to December 1993. He attended the

National Defence College, India The National Defence College, located in New Delhi, is the defence service training institute and highest seat of strategic learning for officers of the Defence Service and the Civil Services. This is a very prestigious course attended only b ...

and was promoted to the rank of

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 ...

in 1994, serving as Commander, Task Force 1 from December 1994 to September 1995.Ceylinco Insurance appoints Gen. Srilal Weerasooriya as independent director
/ref> He served as Colonel Commandant, Sri Lankan Artillery from 1997 to 1998. Having served in many commands and operations in the

Sri Lanka Army ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம் , image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army , start_date ...

, including Operation Leap Forward, Director of Operations and Chief of Staff of the Army, he was appointed on 16 December 1998 as the Commander of the Sri Lankan Army with the rank of

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 ...

and held the position until his retirement on 24 August 2000 following the

Second Battle of Elephant Pass The Second Battle of Elephant Pass (code-named Operation Unceasing Waves III (ஓயாத அலைகள் மூன்று) by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam), was a battle fought in April 2000 for the control of the Sri Lankan mi ...

. He was promoted to the rank of

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 ...

on retirement and was succeeded by L. P. Balagalle.

Awards and decorations

He has received some of the highest awards in the Sri Lankan armed forces, which includes the

Rana Wickrama Padakkama The Rana Wickrama Padakkama (RWP, Combat Gallantry Medal) ( Sinhala: රණ වික්‍රම පදක්කම) is awarded to Sri Lankan military service personnel serving in both the regular- and volunteer forces as a reward for: Bars ...

Uttama Seva Padakkama The Uttama Seva Padakkama (USP, Eminent Service Medal) ( Sinhala: උත්තම සේවා පදක්කම ''uṭṭama sēvā padakkama'') is presented to all ranks of the regular forces of the Sri Lankan military for: Award process Th ...

and the

Rana Sura Padakkama Rana Sura Padakkama (RSP, Combat Excellence Medal) ( Sinhala: රණ ශූර පදක්කම ''rana śūra padakkama'') is awarded to servicepersons of all ranks of the regular and volunteer forces of the Military of Sri Lanka for individua ...

. He was awarded the

Sitara-e-Pakistan The Nishan-e-Pakistan ( ur, , , ''Order of Pakistan'') is the highest civilian award of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It is awarded for "those who have rendered services of highest distinction" to the national interest of Pakistan. Nishan i ...

(Star of Pakistan) by the Government of Pakistan.

Vadamarachchi Operation Medal ribbon bar

Republic of Sri Lanka Armed Services ribbon bar

50th Independence Anniversary Commemoration Medal

Sri Lanka Army 25th Anniversary Medal ribbon bar

Sri Lanka Army 50th Anniversary Medal ribbon bar

Sri Lanka Armed Services Long Service Medal ribbon bar

Later life

In 2000 he was appointed as Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Pakistan and served in this capacity for six years. He was awarded the

the highest of civil decoration given by the Government of Pakistan in 2011.From the Government of Pakistan Gen. Srilal Weerasuriya honored in recognition of receiving top civil award
/ref> Since his return to Sri Lanka he has served as an independent non-executive director of Ceylinco Life PLC since 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weerasooriya, Srilal Commanders of the Sri Lanka Army Sri Lankan full generals Sinhalese military personnel Pakistan Military Academy alumni High Commissioners of Sri Lanka to Pakistan Alumni of S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia Sri Lankan Christians Recipients of the Sitara-e-Pakistan Sri Lanka Artillery officers 1943 births Living people National Defence College, India alumni