Air Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries which have historical British infl ...

Sampath Thuyacontha, VWV, RWP and two bars, RSP and bar, USP (born 26 November 1966) is former senior

Sri Lanka Air Force The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF; ; ) is the air force, air arm and the youngest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. It was founded in 1951 as the Royal Ceylon Air Force (RCyAF) with the assistance of the Royal Air Force (RAF). The SLAF played a major r ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

and

attack helicopter An attack helicopter is an armed helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the offensive (military), offensive capability of engaging ground targets such as enemy infantry, military vehicles and fortifications. Due to their ...

pilot. He is the current Secretary of Defence, having served as the first Air Commander, Southern Air Command and Commandant, Sri Lanka Air Force Academy, China Bay.

Early life and education

Thuyacontha was born in Colombo and was educated at Thurstan College, where he gained colours for rugby in 1986.

SLAF career

He joined the Sri Lanka Air Force in 1988 with the Officer Cadet Intake 19 and was commissioned as a Pilot Officer in the General Duties Pilot Branch in 1990. Having completed his basic combat and flying training, he completed the SLAF's Basic and Advanced Helicopter Training Courses. He commenced his lying duties as an operational pilot flying

Bell 212 The Bell 212 (also known as the ''Bell Two-Twelve'') is a two-blade, twin-engine, medium helicopter that first flew in 1968. Originally manufactured by Bell Helicopter in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, production was moved to Mirabel, Queb ...

and

Bell 412 The Bell 412 is a utility helicopter of the Huey family manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It is a development of the Bell 212, with the major difference being the composite four-blade main rotor. It is a twin-turbine helicopter that has been ...

helicopters in the No. 4 Squadron. In 2000, he transferred to the No 9 Attack Helicopter Squadron at SLAF Hingurakgoda as its Second in Command and served as its Commanding Officer from December 2006 to September 2009, during the last phased of the Sri Lankan Civil War. Logging over 7000 flying hours as an Operations/ VIP and Attack Helicopter Pilot, including combat sorties. Thuyacontha went on to serve as Base Commander, SLAF Anuradhapura; Commandant, Sri Lanka Air Force Academy, China Bay; Base Commander,

SLAF Katunayake Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) (commonly known as Colombo International Airport, Colombo–Bandaranaike International Airport, and locally as Katunayake International Airport) (IATA: CMB, ICAO: VCBI) is the main international airport ...

; the first Air Commander, Southern Air Command and Director Training of the Sri Lanka Air Force. He had also served as the Defence Adviser to the High Commission of Sri Lanka in Islamabad, Pakistan and Chief Instructor of the

Defence Services Command and Staff College The Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC) is situated at Batalanda, Makola (South) 12 Kilometers away from Colombo and its aim to develop the professional knowledge and understanding of experienced officers of the Sri Lanka Army, Sr ...

in 2014. He retired from the SLAF in 2021. Air Vice Marshal Gunaratne has been awarded the gallantry medals Weera Wickrama Vibhushanaya,

Rana Wickrama Padakkama The Rana Wickrama Padakkama (RWP, Combat Gallantry Medal) (Sinhala language, Sinhala: රණ වික්‍රම පදක්කම) is awarded to Sri Lankan military service personnel serving in both the regular- and volunteer forces as a rew ...

(three times), Rana Sura Padakkama (two times) and the service medal

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 ...

. He is a graduate of the PLA National Defense University, having gained a Master of Military Science, and a graduate of the

having gained a MSc in Defence Management.

Political career

Following his retirement, Gunaratne began openly supporting the

National People's Power The National People's Power (NPP), known in Sinhala language, Sinhala as Jathika Jana Balawegaya (JJB), is a left-wing politics, left-wing Electoral alliance, political alliance in Sri Lanka. It is the current ruling party of Government of Sri ...

(NPP) and in 2023 he submitted a violation of fundamental rights petition to the

Supreme Court of Sri Lanka The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka (; ) is the Supreme court, highest court in Sri Lanka and the final judicial instance of record. Established in 1801 and empowered to exercise its powers subject to the provisions of the Constitution of Sri Lanka ...

claiming he had been deprived of his retirement rights due to his political activity. The Supreme Court upheld his retirement rights. Following the election of NPP leader

Anura Kumara Dissanayake Anura Kumara Dissanayake (born 24 November 1968), commonly referred to by his initials AKD, is a Sri Lankan politician who has been the tenth and current president of Sri Lanka since 2024. Dissanayake is the first Sri Lankan president to be ele ...

as President of Sri Lanka, Air Vice Marshal Gunaratne was appointed as Secretary of Defence by President Dissanayake in September 2024.

References

External links

Official Website of Ministry of Defence
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thuyacontha, Sampath 1966 births Defence secretaries of Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Air Force air vice-marshals Sri Lankan military aviators Alumni of Thurstan College PLA National Defence University alumni Defence Services Command and Staff College graduates Living people Sinhalese military personnel National People's Power politicians Year of birth missing (living people)

Early life and education

SLAF career

Political career

See also

References

External links