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Sarath Munasinghe | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament forKurunegala District | |
| In office 2000–2004 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1949 Kurunegala,Dominion of Ceylon |
| Died | 17 March 2008 Colombo,Sri Lanka |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Political party | United National Party |
| Other political affiliations | Sri Lanka Freedom Party (2000–2001) |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Military |
| Awards | Rana Wickrama Padakkama, Rana Sura Padakkama, Uttama Seva Padakkama |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Sri Lanka |
| Branch/service | Sri Lanka Army |
| Years of service | (1970–1999) |
| Rank | Major General |
| Unit | Sri Lanka Artillery |
| Commands | Security Forces Headquarters – Jaffna, 51 Division, 54 Division SLA, 12 Brigade Group, 15 Brigade Group |
| Battles/wars | 1971 Insurrection, Sri Lankan Civil War |
Major GeneralSarath Munasinghe,RWP, RSP, USP was a seniorSri Lanka Armyofficer andpolitician. He had servedCommander Security Forces Headquarters Jaffna and following his retirement, went on to be elected asMember of Parliament ofKurunegala District andDeputy speaker and chairman of committees of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.
Born in Polgahawela inKurunegala, he was educated atMaliyadeva College,Kurunegala.[1]
Munasinghe joined theSri Lankan Army as acadet officer on 5 February 1970 and following his basic officer training at theArmy Training Centre, Diyatalawa in its 3rd intake, he was commissioned as asecond lieutenant in the 4th Artillery Regiment,Sri Lanka Artillery on 1 June 1971, soon after the1971 JVP insurrection.[1] Munasinghe served as anartillery officer and attended the artillery young officer's course at theIndian Army School of Artillery inDeolali in 1975. In 1977, having reached the rank of captain, he was sent to the intelligence staff officer's course at theMilitary Intelligence Training School and Depot inPune and on his return was posted to theArmy Headquarters asGeneral Staff Officer (Grade 3) - intelligence from January 1978. In January 1979 he was sent by BrigadierCyril Ranatunga to Jaffna to set up an intelligence unit for the army with the increase inTamil militant groups. He returned army headquarters in December 1979. Promoted to the rank ofmajor, he was posted as the battery commander of the 9 Field Battery, 4th Artillery Regiment with which he served in Manner. Between December 1980 and April 1981 he attended the junior command course at theArmy War College, Mhow. Returning to his command, the 9 Field Battery was deployed to Jaffna in June 1981. In 1982, he was posted as an intelligence officer attached to theNorthern Command. Major Munasinghe was one of the first on the seen following the ambush of the army patrolFour Four Bravo. In February 1984, he was posted as an officer instructor at theKotelawala Defence Academy after which he served as astaff officer at Army headquarters in Colombo. Following a military training in the United States in 1988, he was posted as the senior intelligence officer to theDirectorate of Military Intelligence with the rank oflieutenant colonel. From February 1990 to November 1990, Munasinghe served as thecommanding officer of the 6th Field Regiment, Sri Lanka Artillery.[2]
Serving for 29 years in the army, he held several senior commands such as;general officer commanding 51 Division SLA and 54 Division SLA; commander 12 Brigade Group,Colombo; commander 15 Brigade Group,Mannar;commanding officer of 6th Regiment Sri Lanka Artillery; coordinating chiefBatticalao,Ampara,Polonnaruwa Districts and coordinating officerWelioya. He was also the Army Director Psychological Operations and Director Media Operations Headquarters, Ministry of Defense and Director MediaArmy Headquarters whilst being the army media spokesman. In 1998 he was promoted to the rank of major general and in 1999 served as Commander Security Forces Headquarters Jaffna, one of the most senior commands in the Sri Lankan military.
Major General Munasinghe entered theParliament of Sri Lanka in 2000 as a member of thePeoples Alliance, representing the Kurunegala District and was madeDeputy speaker and chairman of committees of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, and in 2001 crossed over to the opposition and became a member of theUnited National Party (UNP). He was not reelected in 2001. However he was appointed as the chairman of the Building Materials Corporation. At the time of his death he was the UNP chief organizer for thePolgahawela electorate. He died after a brief illness and his funeral took place in Kurunegala with full military honors.
He was married and had two sons.