Ranjan Wijeratne

Infobox MP
honorific-prefix =General The Honourable
name = Ranjan Wijeratne
honorific-suffix =

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caption =
order = Former Cabinet Minister of Foreign Affairs, Plantation Industries and Minister of State for Defense
constituency_MP = National List | parliament =Sri Lanka
majority =
term_start =1988
term_end =1991
predecessor =
successor =
birth_date = April 4, 1931
birth_place = Sri Lanka
death_date = March 2, 1991
death_place = Colombo, Sri Lanka
nationality = Sri Lankan
party = United National Party
otherparty =
spouse = Delande Surya Bandara
partner =
relations =
children = Rohan
residence =
alma_mater =St Thomas' College
occupation =Politician
profession =Planter
period =
rank = General (posthumous)
branch = Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force
unit = Sri Lanka Riffle Corps
allegiance = Sri Lanka
serviceyears = (1984-1988)
net worth =
religion = Buddhist


website = [http://www.ranjanwijeratnefoundation.org www.ranjanwijeratnefoundation.org]
footnotes =
General Ranjan Wijeratne (April 4, 1931 - March 2, 1991) was the former Sri Lankan Cabinet Minister of foreign affairs, Minister of State for defense [http://www.janes.com/security/international_security/news/usscole/jir001020_1_n.shtml Suicide terrorism: a global threat, www.janes.com] ] (deputy defense minister) and Minister of plantation industries from 1989 to 1991 [ [http://www.ranjanwijeratnefoundation.org/about-ranjan.html About Late General Ranjan Wijeratne, Ranjan Wijeratne Foundation] ] in President Ranasinghe Premadasa's cabinet.

Early life

Born to Walpola Mudalige George Hercules Wijeratne and Rosalind Maria Senanayake he was educated at S. Thomas' College, Gurutalawa and S. Thomas' College, Mt. Lavinia. Wijeratne began a career as a planter, holding many high positions in the tea plantation sector of Sri Lanka. In 1978 he was made Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Research and Chairman of the Agricultural Development Authority. In 1984 Ranjan Wijeratne was commissioned as Lieutenant Colonel in the Sri Lanka Riffle Corps with its formation, which was established to provide security to the plantation sector.

Political career

He resigned from all government posts and his commission when he went into active politics in 1988 when he was appointed Chairman of the United National Party, he went on to become the General Secretary of the Party. Wijeratne was appointed from national list to parliament in 1989 and was appointed as cabinet minister of foreign affairs and minister of state for defense by President Ranasinghe Premadasa.

Death

He was assassinated on March 2, 1991, by the LTTE organization [ [http://www.janes.com/security/international_security/news/sentinel/sent000904_6_n.shtml Jane's Sentinel examines the success of the LTTE in resisting the Sri Lankan forces] ] using a remote controlled car bomb [http://www.fas.org/irp/threat/terror_91/asia.html Patterns of Global Terrorism: 1991, Asia Overview, Federation of American Scientists] ] while he was traveling to his office in Colombo on Havelock Road, during rush hour killing 19 people including the minister and five bodyguards and 13 civilian bystanders [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/2/newsid_4201000/4201675.stm 1991: Sri Lankan hardliner among 19 killed in blast] ] . He was known to have a hard line stance towards the LTTE [http://www.rediff.com/news/2000/jul/10lanka.htm The Rediff Special] ] .

Lt. Colonel Ranjan Wijeratne was posthumously promoted to the rank of General and Kotelawala Defence Academy (now Kotelawala Defence University) at its second convocation, conferred an honorary degree of Doctor of Law (LLD) (Honoris Causa).

ee also

*Havelock Road Bombing, 1991
*Assassinations attributed to the LTTE
*Terrorist attacks carried out by the LTTE
*Sri Lankan Civil War

References

External links

* [http://www.ranjanwijeratnefoundation.org Ranjan Wijeratne Foundation]
* [http://www.unp.lk/portal/ Official Website of United National Party]

Succession box
title = Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka
before = Abdul Cader Shahul Hameed
after = Abdul Cader Shahul Hameed
years = 1989–1993
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