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 ...
Sarath Munasinghe,
RWP,
RSP,
USP 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 senior army officer and a
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
. He had served 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 ...
, becoming Commander Security Forces Headquarters
Jaffna
Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most ...
and went on to become the Deputy Speaker and Member of Parliament.
Early life and education
Born in Polgahawela in
Kurunegala
Kurunegala ( si, කුරුණෑගල, ta, குருணாகல்) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of the North Western Province and the Kurunegala District. Kurunegala was an ancient royal capital for 50 years, fr ...
, he was educated at
Maliyadeva College
''විද්යා භූෂනං පුරුෂ භූෂනම්''
''Vidya Bhūshanam Purusha Bhūshanam''
, motto_translation = Science is the jewel of man
, location = Negombo Rd, Kurunegala
, city ...
,
Kurunegala
Kurunegala ( si, කුරුණෑගල, ta, குருணாகல்) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of the North Western Province and the Kurunegala District. Kurunegala was an ancient royal capital for 50 years, fr ...
.
Military career
Munasinghe joined the
Sri Lankan Army as a
cadet officer
St John Ambulance Ireland (SJAI), previously known as the St John Ambulance Brigade of Ireland, is a charitable voluntary organisation in Ireland. For constitutional reasons it is not a full member association of the Venerable Order of Saint Jo ...
on 5 February 1970 and following his basic officer training at the
Army Training Centre, Diyatalawa
The Sri Lanka Military Academy () (SLMA or SLMA Diyatalawa), commonly known simply as Diyatalawa, is the Sri Lanka Army's training centre where officer cadets are trained for getting commission. It is located in the garrison town of Diyatalawa ...
in its 3rd intake, 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 Artillery Regiment,
Sri Lanka 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 ...
on 1 June 1971, soon after the
1971 JVP insurrection.
Munasinghe served as an
artillery officer and attended the artillery young officer's course at the
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
School of Artillery in
Deolali
Deolali, or Devlali (), is a small hill station and a census town in Nashik district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Now it is part of Nashik Metropolitan Region.
Deolali has an important army base. Deolali Camp, one of the oldest Indian mi ...
in 1975. In 1977, having reached the rank of captain, he was sent to the intelligence staff officer's course at the
Military Intelligence Training School and Depot
The Directorate of Military Intelligence (M.I.) is the Intelligence arm of the Indian Army.
The primary mission of military intelligence is to provide timely, relevant, accurate, and synchronized intelligence support to tactical, operational and ...
in
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...
and on his return was posted to the
Army Headquarters as
General Staff Officer
A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...
(Grade 3) - intelligence from January 1978. In January 1979 he was sent by Brigadier
Cyril Ranatunga
General S. Cyril Ranatunga, VSV (19 February 1930 – 16 June 2021) was a Sri Lanka Army officer. He served as Secretary of Defence, General Officer Commanding, Joint Operations Command and Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army during the 1980s ...
to Jaffna to setup an intelligence unit for the army with the increase in
Tamil militant groups
Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups rose to prominence in the 1970s to fight the state of Sri Lanka in order to create an independent Tamil Eelam in the north of Sri Lanka. They rose in response to the perception among minority Sri Lankan Tamils th ...
. He returned army headquarters in December 1979. 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 ...
, he was posted as the battery commander of the 9 Field Battery, 4th Artillery Regiment with which he served in Manner. Between December 1980 and April 1981 he attended the junior command course at 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. ...
. Returning to his command, the 9 Field Battery was deployed to Jaffna in June 1981. In 1982, he was posted as an intelligence officer attached to the
Northern Command. Major Munasinghe was one of the first on the seen following the ambush of the army patrol
Four Four Bravo
Four Four Bravo was the call sign of a fifteen-man Sri Lankan Army patrol, deployed in the Jaffna Peninsula on July 23, 1983. The patrol was ambushed and thirteen of its members were killed by the LTTE. This incident sparked the Black July ri ...
. In February 1984, he was posted as an officer instructor at the
Kotelawala Defence Academy after which he served as a
staff officer
A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...
at Army headquarters in Colombo. Following a military training in the United States in 1988, he was posted as the senior intelligence officer to the
Directorate of Military Intelligence with 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 ...
. From February 1990 to November 1990, Munasinghe served 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 ...
of the 6th Field Regiment, Sri Lanka Artillery.
Serving for 29 years in the army, he held several senior commands such as;
general officer commanding 51 Division SLA and 54 Division SLA; commander 12 Brigade Group,
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
; commander 15 Brigade Group,
Mannar Mannar may refer to the following places:
India
* Mannar, Alappuzha, a town in Chengannur Taluk, Kerala
Sri Lanka
* Mannar District, one of 25 districts in Sri Lanka
** Mannar Island, an island within the district
**Mannar Bridge, a bridge connect ...
;
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 6th Regiment Sri Lanka Artillery; coordinating chief
Batticalao
Batticaloa ( ta, மட்டக்களப்பு, ''Maṭṭakkaḷappu''; si, මඩකලපුව, ''Maḍakalapuwa'') is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the B ...
,
Ampara
Ampara ( si, අම්පාර, ta, அம்பாறை) is the main town of Ampara District, governed by an Urban Council.
It is located in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, about east of Colombo and approximately south of Batticaloa.
Hi ...
,
Polonnaruwa
Poḷonnaruwa, ( si, පොළොන්නරුව, translit=Poḷonnaruva; ta, பொலன்னறுவை, translit=Polaṉṉaṟuvai) also referred as Pulathisipura and Vijayarajapura in ancient times, is the main town of Polonnaruwa Dis ...
Districts and coordinating officer
Welioya. He was also the Army Director Psychological Operations and Director Media Operations Headquarters, Ministry of Defense and Director Media
Army Headquarters whilst being the army media spokesman. In 1998 he was promoted to the rank of major general and in 1999 served as Commander Security Forces Headquarters Jaffna, one of the most senior commands in the Sri Lankan military.
Political career
Major General Munasinghe entered the
Parliament of Sri Lanka
The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකා පාර්ලිමේන්තුව ''Shri Lanka Parlimenthuwa'', Tamil: இலங்கை நாடாளுமன்றம் ''Ila ...
in 2000 as a member of the
Peoples Alliance, representing the Kurunegala District and was made Deputy
Speaker of Parliament
The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England.
Usage
The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...
, and in 2001 crossed over to the opposition and became a member of the
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), ...
(UNP). He was not reelected in 2001. However he was appointed as the Chairman of the Building Materials Corporation. At the time of his death he was the UNP chief organizer for the
Polgahawela
Polgahawela is a town located in north western Sri Lanka. It is most notable for being a major railway junction.
Polgahawela is situated in the North Western Province of Sri Lanka, and is located approximately north-east from the capital city ...
electorate. He died after a brief illness and his funeral took place in Kurunegala with full military honors.
Family
He was married and had two sons.
References
External links & sources
Sri Lanka - Major General Sarath Munasinghe dies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Munasinghe, Sarath
1949 births
2008 deaths
Sri Lankan major generals
Sinhalese military personnel
United National Party politicians
Sri Lankan Buddhists
Members of the 11th Parliament of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Military Academy graduates
Alumni of Maliyadeva College
Deputy speakers and chairmen of committees of the Parliament of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Artillery officers
Army War College, Mhow alumni