Ministry of Defence (Sri Lanka)

Ministry of Defence and Urban Development
Agency overview
Formed	1948
Preceding agencies	Ministry of External Affairs and Defence; (etc.);
Jurisdiction	Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Annual budget	Rs 290 Billion (2013 est) Rs 230 Billion (2012 est) Rs 214 Billion + 20 Billion supplementary funding (2011 est) Rs 273 Billion (2010 est) 175 Billion Rs + 39 Billion supplementary funding (2009 est)
Minister responsible	Mahinda Rajapaksa; (etc.);
Agency executive	Lieutenant Colonel (Ret) Gotabhaya Rajapaksa; (etc.);
Child agencies	(etc.);
Key document	(etc.);
Website	http://www.defence.lk/

The Ministry of Defence and Urban Development is the Sri Lankan government ministry responsible for implementation of government defence policy and the headquarters of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces.

The Ministry of Defence states that its principal objectives are the formulation, co-ordination and the execution of policies in relation to the national security. With the end of the Cold War, the MOD does not foresee any short-term conventional military threat, the main threat to Sri Lanka having been the now-defunct terrorist organization, the LTTE). The Ministry of Defence also manages day to day running of the armed forces, contingency planning and defence procurement.

The National Security Council of Sri Lanka is the executive body of the Sri Lankan government that is charged with the maintenance of national security with authority to direct the Sri Lankan military and Police. The Minister of Defence and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence and the Chief of the Defence Staff are permanent members of the National Security Council.

History[]

With Ceylon gaining independence in 1948, the Ministry of External Affairs and Defence was formed to administer the country's armed forces and formulate defence and foreign policy. The Prime Minister was also the Minister of Defence and External Affairs, and was supported by a Parliamentary Secretary for Defence and External Affairs who was a member of Parliament.

In 1977, J.R Jayawardena's government adapted two separate ministries, forming the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were formed. Since then many presidents retained the portfolio of Minister of Defence under him/her self, except for a few brief periods. In 1999 the National Security Council was established removing the direct control the military from the deputy Minister of Defence.

In 2011, the ministry was renamed Ministry of Defence and Urban Development.^[4]

Funding[]

Year	Appropriated endowment (Billion) Rs	Supplementary funding (Billion) Rs	Cumulative expenditure (Billion) Rs
1948	-	-
1988	5	-	5
1989	4	-	9
1990	7	-	16
1991	11	-	27
1992	14	-	41
1993	17	-	58
1994	21	-	79
1995	39	-	118
1996	42	-	160
1997	41	-	201
1998	47	-	248
1999	44	-	292
2000	63	-	355
2001	60	-	415
2002	54	-	469
2003	52	-	521
2004	62	-	583
2005	64	-	647
2006	82	-	729
2007	140^[5]	-	869
2008	166^[6]	-	1035
2009	175	39	1249
2010	273	None	1552
2011	214	20	1756
2012	230	None	1986
2013	290	None	2276

Senior officials[]

Minister of Defence, Public Security, Law & Order — President of Sri Lanka His Excellency Mahinda Rajapakse
Permanent Secretary — Lieutenant Colonel (Ret) Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, RWP, RSP, psc, GR
Chief of the Defence Staff — Air Chief Marshal Roshan Goonatilake, RWP & BAR, VSV, USP, ndc, psc, SLAF is the Commander of the Air Force

Objectives[]

Maintenance of internal security and national defence of Sri Lanka.
Implementation and maintenance of the Prevention of Terrorism Act No. 48 of 1979 as amended by the Act No. 10 of 1982.
Maintenance of the Commonwealth War Memorials and the War Graves, on behalf of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Supervision and maintenance of the establishment matters of the three services and the Kotalawala Defence Academy.
Supervision and maintenance of the establishment matters of the National Cadets Corps.
In pursuance of the above objectives the Ministry of Defence provides policy directives and guidelines to the Departments functioning under it.

Key Functions[]

Maintenance of the defence in Sri Lanka.
Administration of the Directorate of Foreign Intelligence & the Directorate of Internal Intelligence.
Maintenance of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University.
Administration of the Sri Lanka Institute of Strategic Studies.
Administration of the Language Training Institute at Kotmale.
Administration of the National Cadet Corps.
Administration of the Department of Civil Defence (formerly the Home Guard Service)

Departments that come under the Ministry of Defence[]

Sri Lanka Army
Sri Lanka Navy
Sri Lanka Air Force
Sri Lanka Police Service
State Intelligence Service

Department of Immigration & Emigration
Department of Registration of Persons
Department of Civil Defence (formerly the Home Guard Service)
The National Dangerous Drugs Control Board
Ranaviru Seva Authority (Veteran's Welfare Authority)

Ministers attached to the Ministry of Defence[]

Since the establishment of the MoD in 1978 the portfolio of Minister of Defence was held by the President of Sri Lanka, except for a few brief periods . However a minister oversaw activities of the MoD and the armed forces. Incomplete

Mrvyn Kularatne - Deputy Minister of defence ^[7]
T.B. Werapitiya (former DIG) - Minister of Internal Security
Lalith Athulathmudali - Minister of National Security
General Ranjan Wijeratne - Minister of State for defence
D.B Wijetunga - Minister of State for defence
General Anuruddha Ratwatte - Deputy Minister of defence
Ratnasiri Wickremanayake - Deputy Minister of defence
Thilak Marapana - Minister of defence

Permanent Secretaries[]

Incomplete

Colonel C. A. Dharmapala, ED, CLI
General Deshamanya D. S. Attygalle, LVO, SLAC
General S. Cyril Ranatunge, VSV, SLAC
Lieutenant General Hamilton Wanasinghe, VSV, SLA
Chandananda de Silva, SLAS
Austin Fernando, SLAS
Cyril Herath (former IGP)
Major General Asoka Jayewardene
Lieutenant Colonel Gotabhaya Rajapaksa

References[]

↑ http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2012/10/slec-o19.html
↑ https://archive.is/20130125061317/www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5goy8ODeG_SrxWu97fFyiHOMvWVag?docId=CNG.f8680b7c6577581edbb44fca91d20f82.5e1
↑ http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/fullstory.php?nid=1130221281
↑ "Defence Ministry adds UD to its name". 17 October 2011. http://www.ft.lk/2011/10/17/defence-ministry-adds-ud-to-its-name/. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7038354.stm
↑ http://www.livemint.com/Politics/3MXN23IrgFoPWHWaQnaZKM/Sri-Lanka-earmarks-record-amount-for-defence-spending.html
↑ Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Asia Times, Retrieved on 23rd February 2002.

External links[]

All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at Ministry of Defence (Sri Lanka) and the edit history here.

[1] ttp://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2012/10/slec-o19.html

[2] ttps://archive.is/20130125061317/www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5goy8ODeG_SrxWu97fFyiHOMvWVag?docId=CNG.f8680b7c6577581edbb44fca91d20f82.5e1

[3] ttp://www.lankabusinessonline.com/fullstory.php?nid=1130221281

[4] "Defence Ministry adds UD to its name". 17 October 2011. http://www.ft.lk/2011/10/17/defence-ministry-adds-ud-to-its-name/. Retrieved 1 December 2012.

[5] ttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7038354.stm

[6] ttp://www.livemint.com/Politics/3MXN23IrgFoPWHWaQnaZKM/Sri-Lanka-earmarks-record-amount-for-defence-spending.html

[7] Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Asia Times, Retrieved on 23rd February 2002.

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