Prime Minister's Security Division (PMSD) is a unit of the

Sri Lanka Police Sri Lanka Police (; ) is the civilian national police force of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The police force is responsible for enforcing criminal and traffic law, enhancing public safety, maintaining order and keeping the p ...

charged with the close protection of the

Prime Minister of Sri Lanka The prime minister of Sri Lanka, officially the prime minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the most senior member of parliament in the cabinet of ministers. It is the second-most powerful position in Sri Lanka's exec ...

. It is headed by a gazetted officer of the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG). The unit consists of both uniformed and non-uniformed officers who provide close protection and guard Prime Ministerial residences.

History

With the formation of the office of the

Prime Minister of Ceylon The prime minister of Sri Lanka, officially the prime minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the most senior member of parliament in the cabinet of ministers. It is the second-most powerful position in Sri Lanka's exec ...

, an ASP or an IP was assigned for the personal protection of prime minister with a small detachment of police constables, who were usually armed with

Lee–Enfield The Lee–Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and was the standard service rifle of th ...

rifles to guard

Temple Trees Temple Trees is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. It is located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Several recent presidents have used it as their official residence as well. History Private residence The history of ''Temple Tree ...

. These policemen lacked special training in close protection. This was highlighted when Prime Minister S W R D Bandaranaike was assassinated at his private residence by Talduwe Somarama. Following the assassination, security was enhanced with a detachment of the

Ceylon Army The Sri Lanka Army (; ) is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. The army was officially established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, though the army traces its roots back in 1881 when Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers was created; t ...

including Ferret armoured cars of the Ceylon Armoured Corps. The need for specialized independent unit was once again highlighted when personal from the internal security detail of the Royal Ceylon Navy, the ''Provost Branch'' were brought to guard Temple Trees on the night of 27 January 1962 when the attempted military coup by senior police and military officers was due to be launched. In 1970, the security of the prime minister was assigned to the Field Security Detachment of the Ceylon Army. With the creation of the Executive Presidency in 1978 the Prime Minister ceased to be the

head of government In the Executive (government), executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presid ...

. This reduced the power of the post, however with the escalation of political associations as a result of the Sri Lankan civil war and the JVP Uprising (1988-1989) the security of the Prime Minister increased. For this purpose the ''Prime Minister's Security Division'' was officially created in the 1990s with specially trained police officers and Special Task Force personnel attached to it. On January 5, 2000, personal of the PMSD prevented an assassination attempt by a female suicide bomber of the

LTTE The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; , ; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eelam ...

, the bomber detonated the bomb outside the Prime Minister's Office killing 13 civilians and three police officers attached to the PMSD.

External links

President's Security now Comes Under New Army Unit
{{Sri Lankan security forces Sri Lanka Police units Protective security units

History

See also

External links