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 ...

A. K. Sumedha Perera, 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 ...

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 ...

. He is the

Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day ...

to the Ministry of Mahaweli, Agriculture, Irrigation and Rural Development; and former Deputy Chief of Staff 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 ...

. Perera received his basic officer training at the Officer Training School, Madras and at the

Sri Lanka Military Academy 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 ...

. 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

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 ...

in 1981. He was transferred to the

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 regular b ...

in 1983, when the Rajarata Rifles was disbanded following a mutiny and the Gajaba Regiment was formed from the remaining personnel. With the escalation of the Sri Lankan Civil War, Perera took part in many offensive operations with the Gajaba Regiment including the

Vadamarachchi Operation Operation Liberation also known as the Vadamarachchi Operation was the military offensive carried out by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces in May and June 1987 to recapture the territory of Vadamarachchi in the Jaffna peninsula from the LTTE (Tam ...

. He was wounded in action in 1984 and was awarded the

Desha Putra Sammanaya The Desha Putra Sammanaya ( Sinhala: දේශ පුත්‍ර සම්මානය ''dēsha puthra sammānaya''; Son of the Nation Award) is a military decoration awarded as a wound medal to servicepersons of the Military of Sri Lanka, equi ...

. His awards include the gallantry medals 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 ...

with two claps,

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 individual ...

with three claps and the

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 ...

. He had attended the Junior Command Course and the Senior 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. ...

; Basic Parachute Course at the Indian Army's Parachute Training School, Agra; Mid-Career Course in Pakistan; Disaster Management Seminar - Pacific Command; and graduated from the

PLA National Defence University The People's Liberation Army National Defence University () is a Beijing-based national military university administered by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and funded by the Central Military Commission. The university is the highest militar ...

. His staff appointments include,

Adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

, Kothalawala Defence Academy, Colonel General Staff of Overall Operational Command - Colombo and served as the Military Spokesman, Ministry of Defence and Director Media, Army Headquarters. He served as

Commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

of the

Army Training School The Army Training School (ATS) () is a unit of the Sri Lanka Army responsible for recruit training and unit training for infantry battalion. It is based in Maduruoya it was established in 1985 at the Panagoda Cantonment by the Sri Lanka Light In ...

and the Infantry Training Centre. He was one first officers of the Air Mobile Brigade and served as the

brigade commander A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

of the 533 Infantry Brigade. He was the Colonel of the Regiment Gajaba Regiment and the Regiment Special Forces, Commander Security Force Headquarters - West, Director General General Staff, Army Headquarters and Commander Security Force Headquarters – Central. He was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army in February 2016 and served till his retirement. He is married to Himashinie Perera and has a daughter and a son. In January 2020, Major General Sumedha Perera was tipped to be appointed as Chief of the Defence Staff, but was instead appointed

to the Ministry of Mahaweli, Agriculture, Irrigation and Rural Development by President

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perera, Sumedha Permanent secretaries of Sri Lanka Sri Lankan major generals Sinhalese military personnel People associated with the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University Living people Sri Lanka Military Academy graduates Gajaba Regiment officers Year of birth missing (living people)