Cecil Waidyaratne

Lieutenant General Cecil Waidyaratne, VSV, USP, ndc, psc, SLAC (May 16, 1938 – December 18, 2001) was a Sri Lankan general. He was 12th Commander of the Sri Lankan Army and a former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Thailand.^[1][2]

Educated at St. Benedict's College, Colombo, he joined the Ceylon Army on June 26, 1959, as a cadet officer and received his officer training at Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. On July 28, 1961, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Ceylon Armoured Corps. On January 1, 1980, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and took over command of the Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers; 1st Battalion, Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment and 1st Battalion, Rajarata Rifles. He went on to become the commanding officer 1st Reconnaissance Regiment, Sri Lanka Armoured Corps.

In 1985, he became the Commander Northern Area and thereafter Commander Southern Area before becoming the General Officer Commanding, 1 Division. He served as Commander of Combined Operations in 1989 and he was responsible for the security of Colombo Metropolitan area. He led the operation which ended the second JVP insurrection. In 1989, he was promoted to the rank of major general and appointed chief of staff of the Sri Lankan Army.^[2][3]

On November 16, 1991, he was promoted to lieutenant general and was appointed as Commander of the Sri Lankan Army. He held the post until December 31, 1993, when he resigned following the Battle of Pooneryn. He was succeeded by G. H. De Silva. Following his retirement he was appointed Sri Lankan Ambassador to Thailand and held the post till December 1994.^[2]

He married Thileka Jayewardene, daughter of Major T.F. Jayawardena.^[2]

References

Commanders of the Sri Lankan Army
1 Sinclair 2 Reid 3 Muttukumaru 4 Wijeyekoon 5 Udugama 6 Heyn 7 Attygalle 8 Perera 9 Weeratunga 10 Seneviratne 11 Wanasinghe 12 Waidyaratne 13 De Silva 14 Daluwatte 15 Weerasooriya 16 Balagalle 17 Kottegoda 18 Fonseka 19 Jayasuriya 20 Ratnayake 21 De Silva