Former Army Commander Retired General Mahesh Senanayake (RWP, RSP, VSV, USP) joined Samagi Jana Balawega.
After joining the Samagi Jana Balawega, he was appointed as the head of the Samagi Ranaviru Balawega.
General Mahesh Senanayake received his primary education from Ananda College, Colombo and obtained a degree in Civil Engineering from the United States Army Command and Staff College and another degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University.
On October 16, 1981, Mr. Mahesh Senanayake joined the Sri Lanka Army through the 16th Cadet Officer Recruitment Long Course. After completing his training, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Engineer Corps and joined the 1st Engineer Regiment on 23 June 1983. In 1989, he transferred to the Special Forces Regiment where he served as the Force Commander of the 1st Regimental Special Forces and later commanded the 3rd Regimental Special Forces.
A senior officer and military engineer in the Sri Lanka Army, he has also served as a colonel in the Special Forces Regiment of the Sri Lanka Army. A veteran of all four major phases of the three-decade civil war, he is an experienced military officer who has served in both its northern and eastern provinces.
General Mahesh Senanayake was appointed as the Chief of Army Staff on 22nd March 2017, and then on 4th July 2017 he was promoted to Lieutenant General and Commander of the Sri Lanka Army by the order of President Maithripala Sirisena. On 21 August 2019, he retired from the Army after being promoted to the rank of General.
