Sarath Weerasekara

Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekara, RSP, VSV, USP, MP is a retired Sri Lankan admiral, politician and a filmmaker. He was a former Cabinet Minister of Public Security and a State Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government Affairs, member of parliament and former Deputy Minister of Labour and Labour Relations. He had served as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Navy and first Director General of the Civil Security Force.^[1][2][3][4]

Hon. Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekara RSP, VSV, USP, MP
සරත් වීරසේකර சரத் வீரசேகரன்
Minister of Public Security
In office 26 November 2020 – 3 April 2022
President	Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Prime Minister	Mahinda Rajapaksa
Preceded by	Office Established
Succeeded by	Prasanna Ranatunga
Member of Parliament for Colombo District
In office 20 August 2020 – 24 September 2024
Majority	328,095 Preferential Votes
Member of Parliament for Ampara District
In office 22 April 2010 – 26 June 2015
Majority	54,373 Preferential Votes
Personal details
Born	(1951-10-29) 29 October 1951 (age 73) Colombo, Sri Lanka
Political party	Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna
Domestic partner	Hemanthi Weerasekera
Relations	Major General Ananda Weerasekara
Alma mater	Nalanda College, Colombo Ananda College University of Kelaniya
Profession	Politician
Website	sarathweerasekera.com
Military service
Allegiance	Sri Lanka
Branch/service	Sri Lanka Navy
Years of service	1971 - 2006
Rank	Rear admiral
Battles/wars	Sri Lankan Civil War
Awards	Rana Sura Padakkama Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya Uttama Seva Padakkama

Minister of Public Security

In March 2021, Weerasekara announced plans to ban the burqas in Sri Lanka and the closure of more than 1,000 Islamic schools over ‘national security’ fears.^[5][6][7][8]

Awards

In order of precedence:

•   Rana Sura Padakkamam^{[citation needed]}
•   Vishista Seva Vibhushanaya^{[citation needed]}
•   Uttama Seva Padakkama^{[citation needed]}

As a filmmaker

Year	Film	Ref.
2011	Gamani	[9][10]
2024	Sri Siddha	[11]

References

1. "SARATH WEERASEKARA". Directory of Members. Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
2. "Parliamentary Elections -2010" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 May 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
3. "Military-LTTE commanders meet at Muhamalai second time". Tamilnet. 16 November 2002. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
4. Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekara: another feather in his cap
5. "Sri Lanka to ban burqa and close 1,000 Islamic schools". TheGuardian.com. 13 March 2021.
6. "Sri Lanka to ban burqa and shut hundreds of Islamic schools, minister says". NBC News.
7. "Sri Lanka to ban burqa, shut more than 1,000 Islamic schools".
8. "Sri Lanka to ban burqas and shut Islamic schools for 'national security'". 15 March 2021.
9. "'Gamani'- mirroring the atrocities of terrorism". The Nation. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
10. "'Gamani': rolls strong". Sunday Times. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
11. "ශ්‍රී සිද්ධා 18 වැනිදා තිරයට". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 11 October 2024.

External links

• Sarath Weerasekara Biography