Anuruddha Ratwatte

General Anuruddha Leuke Ratwatte (14 July 1938 – 24 November 2011), frequently referred to as Anuruddha Ratwatte, was a Sri Lankan soldier and politician. He was a Cabinet Minister and Deputy Minister of Defense.^[2]

Early life

Born in Kandy to Harris Ratwatte Dissawa and Mallika Katugaha Kumarihamy, sixth of nine children. Harris Ratwatte was an politician was a member of the State Council in 1936 to 1947 for Kegalle and United National Party Member of Parliament for Mawanella 1947 to 1952 As a member of the prominent Ratwatte family, he was a cousin of the Sirimavo Bandaranaike.

Anuruddha Ratwatte was educated at Trinity College, Kandy. In the 1950s and 1960s he served as a volunteer in the Central Ceylon Youth Council, serving as the administrator of the Council office and library in Kandy.

Ratwatte had also served as the Acting Diyawadana Nilame (Chief lay Custodian) of the Sri Dalada Maligawa, Kandy during his father's tenure as Diyawadana Nilame and was a former Basnayake Nilame (Lay Custodian) of the Natha Devale, Kandy.

Political career

Kandy Municipal Council

Anuruddha Ratwatte entered politics as a Councillor in the Kandy Municipal Council representing the United National Party in the early 1960s. He crossed over to the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, led by his cousin Sirima Bandaranaike and became the leader of the opposition in the Kandy Municipal Council in the 1980's.

Parliament

He in the late 1960s he was the Sri Lanka Freedom Party Chief Organizer for the Sengkadagala Electorate and in 1970 and 1977 General Elections, he contested Sengkadagala Electorate from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party but was defeated.^[3][4] He was appointed to parliament in February 1989 from the National List. In 1994, he was elected to parliament from the Kandy District representing the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and was appointed by Chandrika Kumaratunga, his niece as Cabinet Minister for Power and Energy and Deputy Defense Minister. While Kumaratunga held the portfolio of Minister of Defense.

Military career

Ratwatte joined the Ceylon Army Volunteer Force as a volunteer officer and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the 2nd (V) Battalion, Ceylon Sinha Regiment (2CSR) based in Kandy. In the 1970's he was head of security for Prime Minister Sirima Bandaranaike. He reached the rank of Lieutenant Colonel when he left from the Army in the late 1970s.

Deputy Defense Minister

On the successful completion of the Operation Riviresa which resulted in the recapture of the Jaffna peninsula, which Ratwatte oversaw as deputy defence minister; he was promoted to the rank of General by President Chandrika Kumaratunga in 1995.^[5] He fell out of favour when Operation Jayasikurui failed to achieve its primary objective of gaining a land route to the Jaffna peninsula and was called off by President Kumaratunga in 1999. His awards include the Riviresa Campaign Services Medal.

Later life

Ratwatte was re-elected to Parliament in 2000 and 2001, however retired from politics in 2004, facing fraud and criminal chargers against him since early 2000's.^[6]

He died on 24 November 2011 at the Kandy General Hospital following complications of a fall he sustained in his home. A statue of him was built in the Kandy City Center in 2013.

Family

He married Carman Rangala, the Librarian of the Youth Council Library in 1967. Their eldest son Lohan is the Member of Parliament representing the Kandy District and second son Mahendra is the former Mayor of Kandy & former Mayor of Kandy.^[7]

See also

• Diyawadana Nilame, Sri Dalada Maligawa, Kandy
• List of political families in Sri Lanka
• Radala
• Lohan Ratwatte

References

External links

• The Ratwatte Ancestry
• 'Anuruddha was second Sapumal Prince'