The Ministry of Defence ( Sinhala: රාජ්‍ය ආරක්ෂක අමාත්‍යාංශය ''Rājya ārakshaka amāthyanshaya'';

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

: பாதுகாப்பு அமைச்சகம்) is the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

ministry of the

Government of Sri Lanka The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය, Śrī Lankā Rajaya; ta, இலங்கை அரசாங்கம்) is a parliamentary system determined by the Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the isl ...

responsible for implementation of government defence policy and acts as the overall headquarters of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces. The Ministry of Defence states that its principal objectives are the formulation, co-ordination and the execution of policies in relation to the

national security National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military att ...

. With the end of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

, the MOD does not foresee any short-term conventional military threat, the main threat to Sri Lanka having been the now-defunct organization, the

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

and

Islamic Terrorism Islamic terrorism (also known as Islamist terrorism or radical Islamic terrorism) refers to terrorist acts with religious motivations carried out by fundamentalist militant Islamists and Islamic extremists. Incidents and fatalities ...

. The Ministry of Defence also manages day-to-day running of the armed forces, contingency planning and defence procurement. The National Security Council of Sri Lanka is the executive body of the

Sri Lankan government The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය, Śrī Lankā Rajaya; ta, இலங்கை அரசாங்கம்) is a parliamentary system determined by the Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the isl ...

that is charged with the maintenance of national security with authority to direct the

Sri Lankan military The Sri Lanka Armed Forces is the overall unified military of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka encompassing the Sri Lanka Army, the Sri Lanka Navy, and the Sri Lanka Air Force; they are governed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). ...

and

Police The police are a Law enforcement organization, constituted body of Law enforcement officer, persons empowered by a State (polity), state, with the aim to law enforcement, enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citize ...

. The Minister of Defence and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence and the Chief of the Defence Staff are permanent members of the National Security Council.

History

With Ceylon gaining independence in 1948, the Ministry of External Affairs and Defence was formed to administer the country's armed forces and formulate defence and

foreign policy A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through ...

. The

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

was also the Minister of Defence and External Affairs, and was supported by a Parliamentary Secretary for Defence and External Affairs who was a member of Parliament. In 1977, J.R Jayawardena's government adapted two separate ministries, forming the Ministry of Defence and the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The enti ...

were formed. Since then many presidents retained the portfolio of Minister of Defence under him/her self, except for a few brief periods. In 1999 the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...

was established removing the direct control the military from the deputy Minister of Defence. In 2011, the ministry was renamed Ministry of Defence and Urban Development.

Funding

Senior officials

* Minister of Defence –

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 ...

State Minister Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. I ...

of Defence -

Chamal Rajapaksa Chamal Jayantha Rajapaksa ( Sinhala: චමල් රාජපක්ෂ; Tamil: சமல் ராஜபக்ஷ; born 30 October 1942) is a Sri Lankan politician who was Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka from 2010 to 2015. Previously ...

Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior civil servant of a department or ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are the non-political civil ...

–

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Kamal Gunaratne General G. D. H. Kamal Gunaratne, WWV, RWP, RSP, USP is a retired Sri Lankan military officer. He is the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and the State Ministry of National Security and Disaster Management. A retired career officer of ...

* Chief of the Defence Staff –

Shavendra Silva *

Chief of National Intelligence The Chief of National Intelligence (CNI) is the Sri Lankan government official in-charge of directing and overseeing the Sri Lankan intelligence agencies, intelligence agencies in Sri Lanka. Created in 2006, reporting to the Permanent Secretary to ...

Departments that come under the Ministry of Defence

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 ...

* Sri Lanka Navy *

Sri Lanka Air Force The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) ( si, ශ්‍රි ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාව, Śrī Laṃkā guwan hamudāva; ta, இலங்கை விமானப்படை, Ilaṅkai vimāṉappaṭai) is the air arm and the yo ...

* State Intelligence Service * Sri Lanka Coast Guard * General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University * Defence Services Command and Staff College * National Cadet Corps * Department of Immigration & Emigration * Department of Registration of Persons * Department of Civil Defence (formerly the Home Guard Service) * The National Dangerous Drugs Control Board * Ranaviru Seva Authority (Veteran's Welfare Authority) * Centre for Research and Development

Ministers attached to the Ministry of Defence

Since the establishment of the MoD in 1978 the portfolio of Minister of Defence was held by the

President of Sri Lanka The President of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජනාධිපති ''Śrī Laṃkā Janādhipathi''; ta, இலங்கை சனாதிபதி ''Ilankai janātipati'') is the head of state and head of government of t ...

, except for a few brief periods . However a minister oversaw activities of the MoD and the armed forces. Incomplete

Minister of Defence

* Tilak Marapana - Minister of Defence

Minister of State for Defence

* Lalith Athulathmudali - Minister of National Security *

Ranjan Wijeratne - Minister of State for Defence * D.B Wijetunga - Minister of State for Defence * Ruwan Wijewardene - State Minister of Defence

Deputy Minister of Defence

Mrvyn Kularatne Mervyn Kularatne (17 August 1938 – ??) was a Sri Lankan a politician. He was the former Deputy Minister of Defence. He was elected to parliament from the Eheliyagoda Eheliyagoda is a town in Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri ...

- Deputy Minister of Defence * T.B. Werapitiya (former DIG) - Deputy Minister of Defence and Minister of Internal Security *

Anura Bastian Anura Bastian (born 30 July 1950) is a Sri Lankan politician. He was a former Deputy Minister of Defence and Member of Parliament (1978 - 1989). A favorite of J. R. Jayewardene Junius Richard Jayewardene ( si, ජුනියස් ර� ...

- Deputy Minister of Defence *

Anuruddha Ratwatte - Deputy Minister of Defence *

Ratnasiri Wickremanayake Ratnasiri Wickremanayake ( si, රත්නසිරි වික්‍රමනායක, ta, ரத்னசிறி விக்கிரமநாயக்க; 5 May 1933 – 27 December 2016) was a Sri Lankan politician who was Prime Mini ...

- Deputy Minister of Defence

Secretaries

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 ...

C. A. Dharmapala (1 Sep 1977 — 15 Aug 1983) *

Deshamanya

D. S. Attygalle General Deshamanya Don Sepala Attygalle, (14 October 1921 – 15 January 2001) was a Sri Lankan senior army officer, civil servant and diplomat. The longest serving Commander of the Sri Lankan Army (1967–1977), he went on to serve as the Perm ...

(15 Aug 1983 — 16 Feb 1990) *General Cyril Ranatunga (16 Feb 1990 — 1 May 1993) *

Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Admi ...

Walter Fernando (1 May 1993 — 6 Jun 1993) *General Hamilton Wanasinghe (6 Jun 1993 — 10 Feb 1995) *Chandananda de Silva (7 Dec 1995 — 5 Dec 2001) * Austin Fernando (21 Dec 2001 — 3 Nov 2003) * Cyril Herath (17 Apr 2004 — 30 Nov 2004) *

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 ...

Asoka Jayawardena Major General Deshamanya Asoka Kanthilal Jayawardena, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, was Sri Lankan senior army officer and politician. He was the former Provincial Governor of the Governor of North Eastern Province and Secretary to the Minister of Def ...

(1 Dec 2004 — 25 Nov 2005) *

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 colon ...

(25 Nov 2005 — 9 Jan 2015) *

B. M. U. D. Basnayake B. M. U. D. Basnayake was a Sri Lankan civil servant. He was the Defence Secretary (Sri Lanka), Defence Secretary, prior to which he served as Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Environment and Renewable Energy. References

{{DEFAULTSORT ...

(11 Jan 2015 — 8 Sep 2015) *Karunasena Hettiarachchi (9 Sep 2015 — 5 Jul 2017) * Kapila Waidyaratne (4 Jul 2017 — 30 October 2018) * Hemasiri Fernando (30 October 2018 - 25 April 2019) *General

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 S ...

(28 April 2019 — 18 November 2019) *General

(18 November 2019 – Incumbent)

References

External links

Government of Sri Lanka

Ministry of Defence, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Army

Sri Lanka Navy

Sri Lanka Air Force

General Sir John Kotelawala Defence Academy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ministry Of Defence (Sri Lanka) Defence agencies of Sri Lanka

Defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indus ...

Military of Sri Lanka

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 ...

Ministries established in 1948