Sujeewa Senarath Yapa

Major General D G S Senarath Yapa RWP, RSP, ndu is a senior Sri Lanka Army general. He is the incumbent Commandant of the National Defence College, Sri Lanka and former Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army. Before that he was the 49th Commandant of the Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force. Prior to join SLVF, he served as the Commander of Security Forces (West) and (Jaffna).


Sujeewa Senarath Yapa
Born2 June 1968
AllegianceSri Lankan
Service/branchSri Lanka Army
Years of service1987–Present
Rank Major General
Commands heldCommandant, Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force
AwardsRana Wickrama Padakkama
Rana Sura Padakkama

Early life and education

Yapa educated at Piliyandala Central College, Colombo District. After that he joined the Sri Lanka Army as an Officer Cadet on 16 March 1987 under the Intake 27. As an officer, he completed his Master of Science in management (Defence) from the Kotalawala Defence University, Sri Lanka and then again gained Master of Science in Strategic Military Studies from National Defence University of Beijing in China.

Military career

Yapa served as General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 57 and 14 Infantry Divisions. He also served as the Colonel of the Regiment of Sri Lanka Army Special Forces. In early years, he was the brigade Commander of Special Forces Brigade and Brigadier General Staff of the Security Forces Headquarters. He was promoted to Major General on 2 June 2020. On 14th December 2022 he assumed the post of Deputy Chief of Staff (DCOS), 3rd most senior appointment of the Sri Lanka Army.

Personal life

General Yapa happily married to Mrs. Nayani Samanthi and the couple is blessed with two sons.