Major General A. K. Sumedha Perera, WWV, RWP,

RSP RSP may refer to: Music * RSP (band), a Japanese hip-hop and R&B group * Rubber Soul Project, a Serbian rock music band Business * Recognised Safety Professional, a designation awarded by the International Institute of Risk & Safety Managemen ...

, USP is a retired

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

. He is the

Permanent Secretary A permanent 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 activities. Permanent secretaries are ...

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

Sri Lanka 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; ...

. 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 oldest military academy in Sri Lanka, and trains commissioned officers for the Sri Lanka Army. It is located in the garrison town of Diyatal ...

. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant 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 shows 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 King Gajabahu the First. It consists of 14 regular battali ...

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 (Tamil ...

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

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

. His awards include the gallantry medals

Weera Wickrama Vibhushanaya The Weera Wickrama Vibhushanaya (WWV, Order of Conspicuous Gallantry) ( Sinhala: වීර වික්‍රම විභූෂණය ''vīra vickrama vibhūṣaṇaya'') is the third-highest military decoration awarded by the Military of Sri ...

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 ...

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, 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 had attended the Junior Command Course and the Senior Command Course at the

Army War College, Mhow The Army War College, Mhow (A.W.C.) is a defence service training and research institution of the Indian Army located in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh. It is a premier training institute of warfare and carries out research in tactics, logistics, contem ...

; 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 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 X ...

. His staff appointments include,

Adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), 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 ...

, 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 ...

of the Army Training School 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 unit, 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 ...

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 Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa, (; ; born 20 June 1949) was a Sri Lankan politician and military officer who served as the eighth President of Sri Lanka from 18 November 2019 until his Resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, resignation on 14 July 202 ...

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)