23 Facts About Cyril Ranatunga

General S Cyril Ranatunga, VSV was a Sri Lanka Army officer.

Cyril Ranatunga served as Secretary of Defence, General Officer Commanding, Joint Operations Command and Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army during the 1980s.

Cyril Ranatunga was the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Australia and later to the United Kingdom.

Cyril Ranatunga was the head prefect and won the gold medal for the best all round student in 1949.

Cyril Ranatunga joined the Ceylon Army in 1950 and received his officer training at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where his company commander was Patrick Anthony Porteous.

Cyril Ranatunga's squadron was deployed in 1956 to Ampara to subdue the Gal Oya riots and thereafter to Trincomalee to control civil unrest.

Cyril Ranatunga underwent training at British Army Armoured Center, Bovington in 1957 as the regimental signals officer of the 1 Recce Regiment.

Cyril Ranatunga was thereafter transferred to Army Headquarters as the general staff officer - operations before returning to the 1st Recce Regiment as its commanding officer.

Cyril Ranatunga was a Lieutenant Colonel and commanding officer of the 1st Recce Regiment when the 1971 Insurrection started and he was appointed the Military Coordinating Officer of the Kegalle District by the Prime Minister, where he effectively subdued the insurgency in the district which had been overrun by insurgents.

Cyril Ranatunga was deployed with the 1st Reconnaissance Regiment and a company of the Ceylon Light Infantry.

Cyril Ranatunga was instrumental in the establishment of the Anuradhapura Army Base as a permanent military complex.

Cyril Ranatunga was nominated to attend the Royal College of Defence Studies in 1973.

Cyril Ranatunga was appointed an executive director of the Airport and Aviation Services, Sri Lanka and later appointed Chairman of Airport and Aviation Services.

Cyril Ranatunga was recalled from retirement on 5 September 1985 and promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General, to serve as the General Officer Commanding, Joint Operations Command which had been formed early that year under the command of General Tissa Weeratunga.

General Cyril Ranatunga was of the opinion that the Indo Lanka Peace Accord was forced down Sri Lanka's throat at a time when the then President, JR Jayewardene wanted no such thing.

Cyril Ranatunga was confident that, had the operation continued, LTTE Leader Velupillai Prabhakaran would have been captured and the LTTE defeated.

Cyril Ranatunga had stated that President Jayewardene had proposed to promote him to the rank of Field marshal.

Cyril Ranatunga stepped down as Defence Secretary in April 1993.

Cyril Ranatunga had been appointed the first Chancellor of the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence Academy in 1990 and held the post till 1995.

Cyril Ranatunga served in London for a year and a half until he was recalled by the newly elected President Kumaratunga.

Cyril Ranatunga died on 16 June 2021, and per his family's wishes a private funeral took place at Borella General Cemetery on the following day.

General Cyril Ranatunga has received the Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya, Ceylon Armed Services Long Service Medal, Republic of Sri Lanka Armed Services Medal and the Vadamarachchi Operation Medal.

Cyril Ranatunga has received the United Nations Medal for the United Nations Observation Group in Lebanon.