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 ...

G. D. H. Kamal Gunaratne, WWV, RWP, RSP, USP is a retired

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 military officer. He is the

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

to the Ministry of Defence and the State Ministry of National Security and Disaster Management. A retired career officer of 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 ...

, 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 Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. He was the GOC of the 53 Division which killed the

LTTE The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...

leader

Velupillai Prabhakaran Velupillai Prabhakaran (; ta, வேலுப்பிள்ளை பிரபாகரன்; , (26 November 1954 – 18 May 2009) was a Sri Lankan Tamil guerrilla and the founder and leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ...

at Nandikadal,

Mullaitivu Mullaitivu ( ta, முல்லைத்தீவு, translit=Mullaittīvu; si, මූලදූව, translit=Mūladūva) is the main town of Mullaitivu District, situated on the north-eastern coast of Northern Province, Sri Lanka. A largely ...

Early life and education

Born to a family of teachers, his father was a school principal. Educated at

Dharmapala Vidyalaya Dharmapala Vidyalaya, Pannipitiya, established in 1942 on land owned by Anagarika Dharmapala, is the largest mixed school in Sri Lanka with about 8000 students and 600 academic staff. It is a public school and provides primary and secondary educ ...

and Ananda College, he joined the army in 1981 as a cadet officer, undergoing basic officer training at the Sri Lanka Military Academy.

Military career

Early career

After completing his basic training and a commando course, he was commissioned into the

Rajarata Rifles The Rajarata Rifles was a former rifle regiment of the Sri Lanka Army. It was one of only three geographically based regiments in the Sri Lanka army. The cap badge of the Raja Rata Rifles show the figure of a ''Bherunda Pakshiya'' (Double-headed ...

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 ...

. Following the disbandment of the Rajarata Rifles, he was one of the initial officers of the newly formed

Gajaba Regiment The Gajaba Regiment (GR) is an elite infantry regiment of the Sri Lankan Army. Formed on 14 October 1983 at the Saliyapura Camp in Anuradhapura, it is named after the famous Sinhalese warrior King Gajabahu the First. It consists of 14 regula ...

, attached to the 1st Battalion, Gajaba Regiment (1GR) under the command of Lieutenant Colonel

Vijaya Wimalaratne Major General Vanigamuni Indrajith Vijeyakumar Mendis Wimalaratne, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, psc, GR ( si, විජය විමලරත්න; 25 August 1940 – 8 August 1992) was a senior Sri Lanka Army officer. One of the most distinguish ...

and Major

Gotabaya Rajapaksa Lieutenant Colonel Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa ( si, නන්දසේන ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ; ta, நந்தசேன கோட்டாபய ராஜபக்ஷ; born 20 June 1949) is a former Sri Lankan militar ...

. 1GR was deployed to the Jaffna peninsula between 1983 and 1984 and again 1985 with the escalation of the Sri Lankan Civil War. Serving as a platoon commander, company commander in the Gajaba Regiment, he was promoted to the ranks of

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

and

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. In 1987 he took part in the Vadamarachchi Operation and thereafter was deployed to Colombo for internal security duties. He attended the Infantry Young Officers’ Course at the School of Infantry and tactics, Pakistan in 1988 and the Junior Command Course at the College of Combat (now the

Army War College, Mhow The Army War College, Dr.Ambedkar Nagar (A.W.C.) is a defence service training and research institution of the Indian Army located in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh. It develops and evaluates concepts and doctrines for tactics and logistics for the army. ...

) in 1990. In 1990, he was the officer commanding the Mankulam Army Camp when it came under intense LTTE attack and under orders from the Wanni Headquarters made a successful withdrawal from the besieged camp. In 1991, he was promoted to the rank of

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

and was appointed Second in Command of the 6th Battalion, GR. He was the officer commanding the Silawathura Army Camp when it came under siege by the LTTE, holding off the LTTE attack for several days until 6GR was relieved by reinforcements. During the siege he was wounded. Following deployment to Weli Oya he was once again seriously wounded. After returning to operational duties, he was transferred to Army Headquarters as a Grade II Staff Officer in the Directorate of Logistics.

Field command

In 1994, having been 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 took command of the 6GR, taking part in the

Operation Riviresa Operation Riviresa (Operation Sunrays), was a combined military operation launched by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces in Jaffna. Starting on 17 October 1995, the primary objective of the operation was the capture of the city of Jaffna and rest o ...

until 1997. Thereafter, he served as Commandant at Infantry Training Centre, Grade I Staff Officer at Joint Services Operational Headquarters coordinating the

Operation Jayasikurui Operation Jayasikurui (''Certain Victory'' in Sinhala), was a Sri Lankan military operation launched on 13 May 1997, it lasted until 1999, when it was called off. The operation was initially launched for 6 months but cancelled after 18 month ...

. In 1999, he attended the Senior Command Course at the College of Combat (now the

), where he gained a MPhil at the

University of Madras The University of Madras (informally known as Madras University) is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and among the most prestigiou ...

and thereafter attended the Command and Staff Course at the

Command and Staff College, Quetta ( ''romanized'': Pir Sho Biyamooz Saadi)English: Grow old, learning Saadi ur, سیکھتے ہوئے عمر رسیدہ ہو جاؤ، سعدی , established = (as the ''Army Staff College'' in Deolali, British India) , closed ...

, gaining his psc qualification and Masters in Art and Science of Warfare from the

University of Balochistan The University of Balochistan (UB) (Urdu: جامعہ بلوچستان; Balochi: بلوچستان ء یونیورسٹی ), also known as Balochistan University, is a public university located in the downtown area of Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan. ...

. As a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

he was Bridged Commander of the Air Mobile Brigade at the on set of the

Eelam War IV Eelam War IV is the name given to the fourth phase of armed conflict between the Sri Lankan military and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Renewed hostilities began on the 26 July 2006, when Sri Lanka Air Force fighter jets ...

and was promoted to the rank of

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

, he went on to take command of the 55 Division and 53 Division 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 ...

. 53 Division took part in many major battles leading to the final battle at Nandikadal, leading to the death of LTTE Leader

Accused of war crimes

Some

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

accused 53 Division under Kamal Gunaratne for executions of

cadres, during the heat of the war near Nandikadal in May 2009.

Higher command

Following the war Gunaratne Defence and Strategic Studies Course at the National Defence College, India (2011) National Defence College, New Delhi, gaining his ''ndc'' qualification. He served as

Adjutant General An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

Security Forces Headquarters – Wanni Security Forces Headquarters – Wanni is a regional command of the Sri Lanka Army, that is responsible for the operational deployment and command all army units stationed in and around the southern part or the Vanni region of the Northern Provi ...

, Deputy Ambassador to Brazil and Master General Ordnance at the Army Headquarters from 16 February 2015 to 4 September 2016 before his retirement in 2016. He was also the Colonel of the Regiment of the

Mechanized Infantry Regiment The Mechanized Infantry Regiment (MIR) is a mechanized infantry regiment of the Sri Lanka Army. It is made up of four regular battalions and a volunteer battalion. Establish in 2007 by Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka its battalions are equipped with Type ...

and the Gajaba Regiment.

Political career

He authored an

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

named Road to Nandikadal on the war against

., which was the best selling book of the 2016

Colombo International Book Fair It is held annually in mid-September at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall in Colombo, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅk ...

. Post retirement, Gunaratne became an active supporter of former

Defence Secretary A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

Gotabhaya Rajapaksa Lieutenant Colonel Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa ( si, නන්දසේන ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ; ta, நந்தசேன கோட்டாபய ராஜபக்ஷ; born 20 June 1949) is a former Sri Lankan military ...

in his presidential campaign during the 2019 Presidential election. Following the election President Rajapaksa appointed Major General Gunaratne as Defense Secretary succeeding

Shantha Kottegoda General Shantha H.S. Kottegoda, WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP (born November 6, 1949) 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 ...

on 19 November 2019. In December 2020, he was elevated to the rank of

by President Rajapaksa.

Awards and decorations

General Gunaratne has received some of the highest awards in the Sri Lankan armed forces, which includes the Weera Wickrama Vibhushanaya,

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 ...

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 Command and Staff College, Quetta Centenary Medal by the Government of Pakistan in 2020.