Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Priyantha Perera, RSP and Bar, USP was a Sri Lankan naval officer. He was the 25th Commander of the Navy of the

Sri Lanka Navy The Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) (; ) is the navy, naval arm of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and is classed as the country's most vital defence force due to its island geography. It is responsible for the maritime defence of the Sri Lankan nation and its ...

Naval career

Educated at

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo also known as; Royal Colombo, Colombo Royal College or Colombo Royal) is a Single-sex education, boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started by Joseph Marsh (priest), Joseph Mar ...

, Perera joined the Sri Lanka Navy in the executive branch in 1987 as an

Officer Cadet Officer cadet is a rank held by military personnel during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by personnel of University Service Units such as the University Officers' Training Corps. Th ...

of the 5th intake of the

General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) ( Sinhala: ජෙනරාල් ශ්‍රිමත් ජෝන් කොතලාවල ආරක්ෂක විශ්ව විද්‍යාලය ''General Sir John Kotelawala'' ''Ar ...

. He was commissioned as a Sub Lieutenant in 1989 following his training at the General Sir John Kotalawala Defence University and

Naval and Maritime Academy Naval and Maritime Academy (NMA), Trincomalee, is the naval academy of the Sri Lanka Navy, and is located within SLN Dockyard, Trincomalee. It received university status in 2001 under the leadership of Commodore SR Samaratunga. History The Sri ...

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; , ; , ), historically known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast o ...

. He completed the Sub Lieutenant Technical Course at Naval and Maritime Academy in 1992 and specialized in Clearance Diving from the Indian Naval Diving Training School in 1994. He holds a Masters in Science Degree (Defence Studies) in Management from General Sir John Kotalawala Defence University and a Master’s Degree of Maritime Policy with Distinctions from

University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (UOW) is an Australian public university, public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately south of Sydney. , the university had an enrolment of more than 33,000 s ...

. He is a graduate of the

US Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associ ...

, having passed the US Naval Staff Course in 2004 and the Defence and Strategic Studies Course at

People's Liberation Army National Defence University The National Defense University is a national public collegiate military university headquartered in Haidian, Beijing, China, with constituent and affiliated military academies nationwide. Established in 1985 by a military order of Deng Xi ...

in 2018. He become the Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy on 18 December 2022, after being elevated him to the rank of three-star Admiral.

Honors

His decorations include

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 ...

thrice for gallantry (with two Bars);

Uttama Seva Padakkama The Uttama Seva Padakkama (USP, Meritorious 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 proc ...

for meritorious service. Other medals he has gained over the years include, the

Sri Lanka Armed Services Long Service Medal __NOTOC__ The Sri Lanka Armed Services Long Service Medal ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා සන්නද්ධ සේවා දීර්ඝ සේවා පදක්කම ''Śrī Laṃkā ārakśaka sēvā dhīrgha sēvā padakkama'') i ...

, the

Sri Lanka Navy 50th Anniversary Medal The Sri Lanka Navy 50th Anniversary Medal ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා නාවික හමුදා 50වන සංවත්සර පදක්කම ''Śrī Laṃkā nāvika hamudā panasvana sangwathsara padakkama'') was presented ...

, the

Sewabhimani Padakkama The Sewabhimani Padakkama ( Sinhala: සේවාභිමානී පදක්කම; Meritorious Service Medal) is a service medal awarded to servicepersons of the Military of Sri Lanka, for services to the nation and its development follow ...

, the

Sewa Padakkama The Sewa Padakkama ( Sinhala: සේවා පදක්කම; Service Medal) is a service medal awarded to servicepersons of the Military of Sri Lanka, for services to the nation and its development following the conclusion of the Sri Lankan C ...

, the 50th Independence Anniversary Commemoration Medal, 75th Independence Day Commemoration Medal, the

Eastern Humanitarian Operations Medal The Eastern Humanitarian Operations Medal was a Sri Lankan campaign medal for action during Eelam War IV, presented to: * The Minister of Defence, the Deputy Minister of Defence, the Defence Secretary, Service Commanders and the Inspector Gener ...

, the

Northern Humanitarian Operations Medal The Northern Humanitarian Operations Medal was a Sri Lankan campaign medal for action during Eelam War IV, presented to: * The Minister of Defence, the Deputy Minister of Defence, the Defence Secretary, Service Commanders and the Inspector Gene ...

(with clasp), the

North and East Operations Medal The North and East Operations Medal ( Sinhala: උතුරු නැගෙනහිර සංග්‍රාමික පදක්කම ''uthuru nægenahira sangrāmika padakkama'') was a decoration presented to servicepersons of the Military o ...

(with two clasps), the

Purna Bhumi Padakkama The Purna Bhumi Padakkama ( Sinhala: පූර්ණ භූමි පදක්කම ''pūrna bhūmi padakkama'') was a service medal awarded by the Military of Sri Lanka (regular and volunteer) and Sri Lanka Police to all ranks of its forces ...

, and the

Riviresa Campaign Services Medal The Riviresa Campaign Services Medal ( Sinhala: රිවිරැස මෙහෙයුම් පදක්කම ''riviræsa meheyum padakkama'') was a campaign medal presented to all ranks of the regular and volunteer forces of the Military of ...

Sri Lanka Navy 50th Anniversary Medal ribbon bar

Sri Lanka Armed Services Long Service Medal ribbon bar

50th Independence Anniversary Commemoration Medal

Eastern Humanitarian Operations Medal ribbon bar

Northern Humanitarian Operations Medal ribbon bar

North and East Operations Medal ribbon bar

Riviresa Campaign Services Medal ribbon bar

His badges include: the Fast Attack Craft (FAC) Squadron Pin, the Surface Warfare Badge, Diving Badge, Commendation Badge and the Qualified in Command and Staff Course Badge.

Personal life

He is married to Commander Mala Lamahewa, a lady officer of Sri Lankan Navy. The couple is blessed with two sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perera , Priyantha Living people Sinhalese military personnel Year of birth missing (living people) Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Naval and Maritime Academy graduates University of Wollongong alumni Commanders of the Navy (Sri Lanka) Sri Lankan admirals