Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Kumar Jayadeva Karannagoda, RSP, VSV, USP, MRIN, MNI (born November 22, 1952) is a Sri Lankan naval officer. He served as the Commander of the Sri Lankan Navy during the last phase of the Sri Lankan Civil War and Governor of North Western Province, Sri Lanka from 2021 to 2023.
Karannagoda commanded fast gun boats of the 7th Surveillance Command Squadron, before achieving higher command in the Navy and serving as the Commander of the Navy during the final stage of the Sri Lankan Civil War that saw the military defeat of the LTTE. Under his command the Sri Lanka Navy was able to intercept and sink over ten arms shipments of the LTTE on high seas in the Indian Ocean.
Following the war, Karannagoda retired from the navy and went on to hold several political appointments that included Secretary to the Ministry of Highways, Ambassador to Japan and was promoted to the rank of Admiral of the Fleet. He supported Gotabaya Rajapaksa's presidential campaign and was appointed Governor of North Western Province in 2021 by President Rajapaksa.
Early life and education
Born to Mr and Mrs D. S. Karannagoda, he was educated at Ananda College, where he was contemporaries of Sarath Fonseka and Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Naval career
Early career
After completing his schooling, Karannagoda joined the Royal Ceylon Navy as an Officer Cadet on 1 August 1971 in the months following the 1971 JVP insurrection. Following is basic officer training at the Naval and Maritime Academy and completing the sub lieutenant technical course at the Indian Naval Academy gaining a first class; he was commissioned as a Sub Lieutenant on 1 February 1974. Specializing as a navigations officer in the executive branch, he followed a navigation specialization course in India from 1979 to 1980. He then served as Flag Lieutenant to Commander of the Navy, Admiral Basil Gunasekara. In 1987, Lieutenant Commander Karannagoda attended the naval command and staff course at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. Following several at see and shore appointments, he went on to command SLNS Wickrama and then served as Commander, 7th Surveillance Command Squadron.
Higher command
Karannagoda had served as the Commandant of the Naval and Maritime Academy, Deputy Area Commander (West), Deputy Area Commander (North) and Deputy Area Commander (East). Promoted to Commodore in 1996, he served as Director Naval Operations, Director Naval Projects and Plans as well as Director Naval Personnel and Training. He gained a Master of Business Administration from the University of Colombo in 1996 and followed a course on International Relations, Law of the Sea and Energy Resources in the United States in 1997. Promoted to Rear Admiral in 1999, he attended the national defence course at the National Defence University, Islamabad from 1999 to 2000, gaining a Master’s in Defence and Strategic Studies from the Quaid-i-Azam University.
Rear Admiral Karannagoda served as the first Director General (Operations) at Naval Headquarters and then went on to command four naval commands, Northern, Eastern, Western and North Central Commands, be for appointment as Commander of the Navy with promotion to the rank of Vice Admiral on 1 September 2005. During his command, the Sri Lanka Navy, increased its deep-sea operations against LTTE arms shipments sinking over ten arms smuggling ships. With the military defeat of the LTTE in 2009, Karannagoda was promoted to the Admiral by President Mahinda Rajapakse. In 2009, he was invited to follow a course on Regional Security Studies at the National Defense University in Washington, DC.
Later life
Following his retirement from the navy in 2009, he was appointed Secretary to the Ministry of Highways. He was thereafter appointed Sri Lankan Ambassador to Japan in 2011, serving till 2015.
Admiral of the Fleet
Karannagoda was promoted to the honorary rank of Admiral of the Fleet by President Maithripala Sirisena on 19 September 2019 for his service as the Commander of the Navy during the final stage of the Sri Lankan Civil War. He is the first and to-date the only person to hold the rank and second person to be appointed to a Five star rank in Sri Lanka. On promotion to the newly created rank, he was a restored to active service. The appointment coincided with the promotion of Air Chief Marshal Roshan Goonetileke to the newly created rank of Marshal of the Sri Lanka Air Force. Both promotions had been heavily lobbied for following the promotion of the General Sarath Fonseka to the newly created rank of Field Marshal in 2015.