Anuruddha Ratwatte (1935–2023) was Deputy Minister of Defence from 1994 to 2001, during a period of intense fighting in the north and east. He came from a Kandyan family long associated with public office; he was a cousin of Sirimavo Bandaranaike.
He served in the Ceylon Army before entering politics and was elected to Parliament for Kandy. As deputy defence minister he was closely involved in military operations of the late 1990s and held the honorary rank of General. He was later prosecuted in connection with election-related killings in 2000 and acquitted on appeal in 2007.