The Mastermind …..

Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa masterminded the operational strategies and made an effective combination with the services of the Army, Navy and the Air Force to destroy the LTTE firepower and liberate the country from the clutches of terrorism.

During the entire operation, he has had many sleepless nights, planning strategies for the battlefield and to obtain the maximum support from the three Forces. At the same time, the Security Forces were under strict orders to avoid civilian casualties at all times and to respect human rights. President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s strong political leadership was a tower of strength to the Security Forces and to the Defence Secretary.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa assumed duties as the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence in November 2005. In this capacity he guided the Sri Lankan Defence Services to victory against the separatist terrorism of the LTTE, thereby ending a three decades of LTTE terror in Sri Lanka.

A career soldier, Gotabaya Rajapaksa joined the Sri Lanka Army in 1971 and served his country with distinction for twenty years. He commanded many anti-terrorist operations in the North and East of Sri Lanka at crucial times during the conflict. Amongst these, his command of the 1st Battalion of the Gajaba Regiment in the Vadamarachchi Operation in 1987, and his participation in Operation Thrividhabalaya in 1990 to wrest the Jaffna Peninsula from terrorist control are particularly noteworthy.

Following these accomplishments, he was appointed as the Deputy Commandant of Sir John Kotelawala Defence University in 1991 and, as a Lieutenant Colonel, was Coordinating Officer of the Welioya area from 1990 to 1991. Prior to that appointment, he was the Coordinating Officer of the Matale District and the Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, Gajaba Regiment from 1989 to 1990.

During his military career, he was awarded the President’s Commendation letter by former President J. R. Jayewardene and decorated with the Rana Wickrama and the Rana Soora medals for valour in combat by former Presidents R. Premadasa and D. B. Wijetunga. He has also received a commendation from the Commander of the Army for his bravery in action.

Hailing from the village of Weeraketiya in the South of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa had his education at Ananda College, Colombo. He completed his basic officer cadet training at the prestigious Military Academy at Diyatalawa, and subsequently completed the Young Officers Course at Rawalpindi and the Mid-Career Course at Quetta, Pakistan. He completed his Staff Course at the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington, India, in 1983, and obtained his Masters Degree in Defence Studies from the University of Madras in the same year. He underwent advanced training in Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare at Assam, India, and graduated in Advanced Infantry Training from the Infantry School at Fort Benning, USA later in his career.

Following his successful career in the Sri Lanka Army, Gotabaya Rajapaksa obtained a Masters Degree in Information Technology from the University of Colombo. He subsequently worked as the Unix System Administrator of the prestigious Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, California, prior to returning to Sri Lanka to take up his appointment as the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence.

He is a son of former Parliamentarian and Deputy Speaker of Parliament, the late D.A. Rajapaksa. His wife Ioma, the Chairperson of the Seva Vanitha Unit of the Ministry of Defence, has rendered a yeoman service by helping the war heroes and their families.

On December 1, 2006, Defence Secretary Rajapaksa narrowly escaped LTTE suicide attempt when the terrorists activated a powerful bomb targeting his car at Dharmapala Mawatha, Colombo 7. The suicide bomber rammed his three-wheeler into the convoy of the Defence Secretary who was en route to the Presidential Secretariat for an official meeting. But he continued to render his services with greater courage and vision. He has been the livewire in the defence establishment that enabled all Sri Lankans t0 enjoy the dividends of peace.