Major General (Retired) Kamal Gunaratne has been appointed as the new Secretary to the Ministry of Defence.
The new appointment has been made by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who officially assumed duties at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo this morning.
Delivering a speech after taking oath as President of Sri Lanka yesterday, Rajapaksa had stated that he will hold the portfolio of Minister of Defence in addition to being the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
Kamal Gunaratne is the former Commander Security Forces Headquarters - Wanni, General Officer Commanding (GOC) 53 Division, Colonel of the Regiment, Mechanized Infantry Regiment (MIR) and Master General Ordnance (MGO) of the Army Headquarters.
He had also served as a Deputy Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Brazil.
Following his retirement from the army in September 2016, Gunaratne authored a book ‘Road to Nandikadal’ on the war against the LTTE.
Post retirement, he had been active in supporting Gotabaya Rajapaksa in his campaign during the 2019 Presidential Election.
