Air Vice Marshal Udeni Rajapaksa has been appointed to the post of Air Force Commander.
The President’s Secretary, Mr. Saman Ekanayake, handed over the appointment letter to AVM Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday (28).
In recognition of his exceptional service and in line with his new appointment as the Commander, President Ranil Wickremesinghe has promoted Air Vice Marshal Udeni Rajapaksa, to the rank of Air Marshal, effective from tomorrow, the 30th.
As the 19th Air Force Commander of the country, Air Vice Marshal Udeni Rajapaksa proudly represents his alma mater, Ananda College, Colombo, being the first Air Force Commander to be appointed from Ananda College.
His journey began in 1988 when he joined the Kotalawala Defence College as a cadet, and subsequently, he excelled in flight training at the Anuradhapura Camp No. 01, achieving the distinction of being the best cadet in the 33rd Air Cadet Course.
With a combination of local and foreign training, he demonstrated outstanding performance as a flight officer. Prior to his current appointment, he held the second position of command within the Air Force, as the Chief of Staff, and now assumes the prestigious role of Air Force Commander.
Outgoing AF commander promoted
Meanwhile, President Ranil Wickremasinghe in his capacity as the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces has also promoted Air Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana to the four star rank of Air Chief Marshal with effect from today (June 29).
Air Chief Marshal Pathirana took over as the 18th Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force on 03 November 2020 and will relinquish his command today at Air Force Headquarters.
All campaign activities for the forthcoming 2025 Local Government (LG) Election are scheduled to end at midnight on 03 May, according to the National Election Commission.
Election Commissioner General Saman Sri Ratnayake said the period from 03 May until election day will be declared the pre-poll silent period.
He added that the door-to-door distribution of official ballot papers ends today. Those who have not received their ballot papers can collect them from their area’s sub-post office after April 30 by verifying their identity until election day. The Postal Department also issued a similar announcement.
The EC has decided to use the little finger to mark the appropriate symbol during the LG elections this year.
Meanwhile, the distribution of the official election notices given to the Postal Department for distribution is nearly completed.
A police investigation team has been appointed and the names of its members have been submitted to the Committee of Inquiry to inquire and report its findings on IGP T. M. W. Deshabandu Tennakoon in respect of acts of gross abuse of power.
This appointment has been made in response to a formal request by the Committee to the Acting IGP, seeking the assistance of a police investigation team to support the Committee’s investigation.
Accordingly, during its third meeting held in Parliament on 28th April 2025, the Committee decided to commence further investigation with the assistance of the appointed police investigation team.
The Committee also decided to reconvene on April 30.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) – Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, officially handed over the Financial Statements and Operations Report 2024 of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to President Anura Kumara Disanayake at the Presidential Secretariat today (April 29).
A copy of the report was also presented to Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake.
Several senior officials from the Central Bank were present at the occasion.