Mahesh Senanyake

Lieutenant General N U M M W Senanayake, RWP, RSP, USP, psc was appointed as the 22nd Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, effective from 27 June 2017 by His Excellency the President Maithripala Sirisena as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces after he was elevated to the rank of Lieutenant General with effect from the same date.

Lieutenant General N U M M W Senanayake, RWP, RSP, USP, psc, more popularly known as Mahesh Senanayake is a proud product of the prestigious Ananda College, Colombo, and was enlisted to the Sri Lanka Army on 16 October 1981 under the Officer Cadet Intake 16.

Upon successful completion of military training, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, and passed out as the first in order of merits and awarded with the Sword of Honor. He opted to join the Corps of Engineers and was subsequently posted to the 1st Plant Engineer Regiment on 23 June 1983.

During his illustrious military career, he held many Command, Staff and Instructional appointments. The Senior Officer has held the appointment of Troop Commander/Squadron Commander in the Sri Lanka Army Plant Engineer Regiment and many other appointments, including extra regimental employment as an Officer Instructor at the Sri Lanka Military Academy, Diyatalawa. Subsequently, the Senior Officer volunteered for an inter-unit transfer to the Regiment of Special Forces in 1989. Lieutenant General N U M M W Senanayake has actively contributed to all major military operations conducted in the North and East of Sri Lanka. In the Special Forces Regiment, he has served the appointment of Squadron Commander of the 1st Regiment Special Forces and commanded the 3rd Regiment Special Forces.

The Senior Officer has held the appointments of Regimental Center Commandant of the Special Forces Regiment, Commander of the 211 Infantry Brigade – Vavuniya, Commander of the Special Forces Brigade and the General Officer Commanding of the 52 Division in Varani, Jaffna. In addition, he has also performed staff appointment duties, including the office of the Colonel General Staff at 52 Division and the Brigadier General Staff in the Security Force Headquarters – Jaffna during the most critical period of the war. Lieutenant General N U M M W Senanayake has also served the appointment of Directing Staff at the Army Command and Staff College at Sapugaskanda.

Further, the Senior Officer held the appointment of Director Plans during the Humanitarian Operations after the year 2006. Subsequently in 2015, he took office as the Military Secretary at the Army Headquarters.

In 2016, he was appointed the Commander Security Forces – Jaffna during which he made an outstanding contribution towards resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the peninsula. His unparalleled service towards the reconciliation process was well recognised by the community and government authorities. In March 2017, he was appointed as the Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army.

Lieutenant General N U M M W Senanayake is a graduate of the prestigious United States Army Command and General Staff College. Further, he holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from Jawaharlal Nehru University, India.

In recognition of his gallantry and bravery in the face of the enemy during operations, Lieutenant General N U M M W Senanayake was awarded the Rana Wickrama Padakkama (RWP), Rana Soora Padakkama (RSP) several times and the Uththama Seva Padakkma (USP) for his unblemished services in the Army.