Cecil Waidyaratne, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetCecil Waidyaratne
Sri Lankan diplomat (1938-2001)
Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Sri Lanka
About Cecil Waidyaratne
- General Cecil Waidyaratne, VSV, USP, ndc, psc, SLAC (May 16, 1938 – December 18, 2001) was a Sri Lankan general.
- He was 12th Commander of the Sri Lankan Army and a former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Thailand.Educated at St.
- Benedict's College, Colombo, he joined the Ceylon Army on June 26, 1959, as a cadet officer and received his officer training at Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.
- On July 28, 1961, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Ceylon Armoured Corps.
- On January 1, 1980, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and took over command of the Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers; then 1st Battalion, Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment and thereafter 1st Battalion, Rajarata Rifles.
- He went on to become the commanding officer of the 1st Reconnaissance Regiment, Sri Lanka Armoured Corps. In 1985, he became the Commander Northern Area and thereafter Commander Southern Area before becoming the General Officer Commanding, 1 Division.
- In 1989, he was promoted to the rank of major general and appointed Chief of Staff of the Army.
- In August 1989, he was appointed Commander of Operation Combine in 1989 and was responsible for the security of Colombo Metropolitan area.
- He led the Operation Combine which ended the second JVP insurrection.
- On November 16, 1991, he was promoted to lieutenant general and was appointed as Commander of the Sri Lankan Army.
- He held the post until December 31, 1993, when he resigned following the Battle of Pooneryn.
- He was succeeded by G.
- H.
- De Silva.
- He was promoted to General on January 1, 1994 and retired from the army.
- Following his retirement he was appointed Sri Lankan Ambassador to Thailand and held the post till December 1994.He married Thileka Jayewardene, daughter of Major T.
- F.
- Jayewardene.
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