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Nalin Seneviratne | |
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| Born | (1931-08-25)25 August 1931 |
| Died | 12 August 2009(2009-08-12) (aged 77) |
| Allegiance | Sri Lanka |
| Service |  Sri Lanka Army |
| Years of service | 1953 -1988 |
| Rank | General |
| Unit | Sri Lanka Engineers |
| Commands | Commander of the Army |
| Battles / wars | 1971 Insurrection, Sri Lankan Civil War |
| Awards |  Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya |
| Other work | Governor of theNorth East Province |
GeneralGanegoda Appuhamelage Don Granville Nalin Seneviratne,VSV (August 25, 1931 – August 12, 2009) was aSri Lanka Armygeneral. He was theCommander of the Sri Lankan Army from 1985 to 1988 and firstGovernor of theNorth East Province.
Born to Irwin Seneviratne and Irene Seneviratnenée Rodrigo from Sapugaskanda, Heiyantuduwa inGampaha District. He had three brothers. The eldest two were Tissa Seneviratne, an Engineer andAna Seneviratne, a police officer who served asInspector General of Police from 1978 to 1982; the youngest wasGamini Seneviratne, a diplomat who was Sri Lankan Ambassador to Thailand and Republic of Korea. Educated atRoyal College Colombo, Seneviratne excelled in sports and academics. He took part in athletics and rugby, and was aRegimental Sergeant Major of theCollege Cadet Corps.
Seneviratne joined theCeylon Army after completing his schooling on 1 October 1951 as acadet officer and received his basic training atRoyal Military Academy, Sandhurst from 12 January 1952 to 2 July 1953. On completion of his training at Sandhurst, he was commissioned as asecond lieutenant on 30 July 1953 and posted to the 1st Field Engineer Regiment,Ceylon Engineers. He thereafter attended the Young Officers course at theRoyal School of Military Engineering inChatham before returning to Ceylon. He received promotions to the ranks oflieutenant in 1955,captain in 1958 andmajor in 1963. He received promotions to the ranks oflieutenant in 1955,captain in 1958 andmajor in 1963. During this time he had served as aGeneral Staff Officer (Grade III) atArmy Headquarters and Staff Officer - II at the HQ,Task Force Anti Illicit Immigration. He was the first officer from the Ceylon Army to attend the Engineering Officers' Construction, Planning and Operation Course at theUnited States Army Engineer School atFort Belvoir in the 1960s.[1][2]
He was appointedcommanding officer of the 1st Field Engineer Regiment on 6 December 1970, serving till 16 May 1977.[3] He was promoted to the rank oflieutenant colonel in December 1971 andcolonel in January 1977. During this time he served as an ExtraAide-de-camp to the President. He was the Commander Engineer Group from 1977 to 1980. Whilst serving in the Army, he was seconded to the Ceylon Shipping Corporation for two years and a member of the Board of Directors of the Tractor Corporation from 1977 to 1980. He was appointed Director Engineer Services and later Director Designated Budget and Financial Management before being promoted to the rank ofbrigadier on 31 December 1981. He served as Commander - Support Force,Panagoda;Commander - Security Force, Jaffna and Coordinating Officer ofJaffna andKilinochchi. He attended the National Security and Strategic Study course at theNational Defence College inNew Delhi.[1][2]
On 11 February 1985, he was appointed the 10th commander of the Sri Lanka Army and promoted to the rank ofmajor general. The following year he was promoted tolieutenant general. Commanding the army for over three years, he oversaw the largest military operation undertaken to that date, theVadamarachchi Operation and carried out a rapid expansion of the army. He retired on 16 August 1988.[1][2]
He had been awarded theVishista Seva Vibhushanaya (VSV) for over 25 years of distinguished service in the army, his other medals include theRepublic of Sri Lanka Armed Services Medal,Sri Lanka Army 25th Anniversary Medal,Ceylon Armed Services Long Service Medal,Sri Lanka Armed Services Long Service Medal,President's Inauguration Medal and thePurna Bhumi Padakkama.[1][2]
On retirement from the Army, Lieutenant General Seneviratne was appointed the firstGovernor of the North East Province from 30 November 1988 and served until 30 November 1993. In 2007 he was promoted to the rank ofgeneral along with nine other former service chiefs.[4] He died August 12, 2009, aged 78 and last rites carried out with full military honours at theBorella General Cemetery.[5]
He was married to Mala Seneviratne, their only child Dushyanthi was the principalcellist of the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka and is married to Khavan Perera, son ofGeneralDenis Perera.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Office created | Governor of North Eastern Province 1988–1993 | Succeeded by |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by | Commander of the Sri Lankan Army 1985–1988 | Succeeded by |
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