About General Sarath Fonseka

Fonseka, 59, is a career military officer who entered the army in 1970 and served as army commander from 2005-2009. During that time, he led the victorious military campaign to crush the Tamil Tigers, with a mix of outright firepower and counterinsurgency tactics using special forces "deep penetration" units. He was twice wounded in combat as an infantry officer.

In April 2006, a female Tamil Tiger suicide bomber infiltrated the army headquarters and blew herself up next to Fonseka's car and nearly killed him. But Fonseka was back at work three months later. He went on to launch the offensive that would totally destroy the Tigers.

After the war, Fonseka became the first and only serving Sri Lankan officer to be promoted to the rank of four-star general. Mahinda Rajapaksa later appointed him to the newly created position of chief of defence staff. Fonseka quit in November, complaining the job was designed to sideline him and that Rajapaksa had wrongly accused him of a coup plot.