On 28 October 2025, Nalinda Niyangoda was appointed as the new Chief of National Intelligence (CNI) of Sri Lanka, replacing Major General Ruwan Wanigasooriya, who retired the day before. His appointment comes at a critical time, as President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s administration pursues sweeping reforms to the country’s security institutions and efforts to improve intelligence coordination. Despite his three-and-a-half decade military career, Niyangoda lacks intelligence experience. He entered the military during the civil war (1983 – 2009), and his experience—mainly in the overwhelmingly Tamil northern provinces—likely aligns with the President’s pledges to address post-election concerns in the Tamil community. As of the time of this writing, there is no publicly available reporting or official commentary assessing the first three months of Niyangoda’s performance as Chief of National Intelligence or indicating any changes implemented under his leadership.
Open source reporting on Niyangoda’s personal history is exceptionally limited, but includes the following:
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