Former Commander of the Sri Lanka Army - General Hamilton Wanasinghe has passed away at the age of 91.
Born in Malwana, he received his primary and secondary education at Ananda College. A keen sportsman, he was the Sergeant Major in the Cadet Platoon during his school days. He was also an active member of the College rifle shooting team, which won many coveted trophies and later in the Army. Later he also represented Ceylon Inter Dominion small bore rifle shooting competition.
He joined Ceylon Army as an Officer Cadet in 1954 and was sent to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst for basic training. Later he was commissioned as an Officer in the Ceylon Artillery as a Second Lieutenant. Prior to being appointed as the Army Commander, he held various portfolios in the Army’s hierarchical order and in 1988 he became the 11th commander of the Sri Lanka Army.
After his retirement, he also held several key positions including Joint Operations Commander and the Secretary of Defence Sri Lanka from which position he retired in 1995.
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