Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

Mohan Wijewickrama,

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 ...

, VSV, USP (born 12 June 1953) is a former Sri Lankan senior naval officer turned politician. He served as the Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Navy from 2001 to 2005. He was appointed

Governor of North Eastern Province The Governor of the North Eastern Province, Sri Lanka ( ''Uthuru saha Nægenahira palāth āndukāravarayā'') was responsible for the management of the North Eastern Provincial Council, its key functions including exercising powers vested in th ...

from 2006 to 2007 and Governor of Eastern Province from 2007 to 2015, while serving as acting Governor of Northern Province. He is a former High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to Pakistan .

Education

Wijewickrama was educated at

Thurstan College Thurstan College () is a national school for boys in Colombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka, providing primary and secondary education. It is located in the Cinnamon Gardens neighbourhood of Colombo 7 near the University of Colombo and the Roya ...

in Colombo.

Naval career

After completing his education, he joined 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 ...

on 1 August 1971. During his career in the Navy he served as the Deputy Commander, Western Naval Area (1993–1995); Deputy Commander, Northern Naval Area (1995–1996); Commander, Southern Naval Area (1996–1998); Commander, Eastern Naval Area (1998–2000); Commander, Northern Naval Area (2000–2001). From 2001 to 2005 he functioned as the Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Navy. He retired from the service in 2005 with the rank of

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

, when he was overlooked for the position of the Commander of the Navy by then president

Chandrika Kumaratunga Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga (; ; born 29 June 1945), commonly referred to by her initials CBK, is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the fifth President of Sri Lanka, President of Sri Lanka from 12 November 1994 to 19 November 2005. ...

. In 2019 President Maithripala Sirisena corrected the injustice that occurred to him in 2005, by bestowing him with the rank of Vice Admiral from the date of retirement.

Political career

Wijewickrama was appointed

on 21 January 2006, by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa (; ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the sixth President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015; the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2005, 2018, and 2019 to 2022; the ...

. With the de-merger of the two Provinces, he was appointed the Governor of the Eastern Province in December 2006, the appointment he held till the election defeat of President Rajapaksa in 2015. He was appointed co-chair of the District Development Committees (DDC) for Ampare, Batticaloa and Trincomalee.A Brief History of Eastern Provincial Council
/ref> He was an active member of Viyathmaga a professional organisation that supported 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 ...

's presidential campaign in 2019. He was appointed Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Pakistan from June 2020 to June 2023.

Awards

His awards and decorations include the Medals;

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 ...

(RSP),

Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya The Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya (VSV, Distinguished Service Order) ( Sinhala: විශිෂ්ට සේවා විභූෂණය ''viṣiṣta sēvā vibhūṣaṇaya'') is awarded to senior officers of the Military of Sri Lanka in recognit ...

(VSV),

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 ...

(USP),

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 ...

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 ...

and

Republic of Sri Lanka Armed Services Medal The Republic of Sri Lanka Armed Services Medal was awarded to members of the regular and volunteer forces of the Military of Sri Lanka who were in service on 22 May 1972, subject to recommendation by the commanders of the respective service co ...

Family

Wijewickrama is married to Nishani. They have a son and a daughter.

References

External links

Eastern Provincial Council Governor's Secretariat
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wijewickrama, Mohan 1953 births Living people High commissioners of Sri Lanka to Pakistan Governors of North Eastern Province, Sri Lanka Governors of Northern Province, Sri Lanka Governors of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka Sri Lankan vice admirals Sinhalese military personnel Alumni of Thurstan College