Lance Corporal W.I.M Seneviratne PWV, SLLI (c. 1968 – July 4, 1996) was a Sri Lankan soldier. After joining the Sri Lanka Army in 1987, Seneviratne served during the Sri Lankan Civil War. On July 4, 1996, while providing security to visiting Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva in the northern city of Jaffna, Seneviratne sacrificed his life to thwart a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber from assassinating Minister de Silva. He was posthumously awarded the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, the highest military decoration awarded for gallantry in Sri Lanka. Background W.I.M Seneviratne was born to a family of paddy farmers in Kobeigane, Kurunegala. Seneviratne studied up to his Ordinary Levels at Parakrama Maha Vidyalaya in Kobeigana. Having wanted to join the Sri Lanka Army since childhood, Seneviratne enlisted in the Army 1987, joining the 7th Battalion of the Sri Lanka Light Infantry. After receiving training at the Army Training School in Maduru Oya, Seneviratne served in Trincomalee, Ampara and Jaffna during the course of the Sri Lankan Civil War. He was injured three times, twice at Elephant Pass and once at Palaly. After being under the control of the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Tamil Tigers) organization since the late 1980s, Jaffna, the largest city in the north of Sri Lanka was liberated by the Sri Lanka Army in 1995. Seneviratne was assigned to the 51st Division as a member of the Army Quick Reaction Team (QRT) in Jaffna, which consisted of motorbike mounted troops. Suicide attack On July 4, 1996, Seneviratne was assigned to provide protection to the Minister of Housing and Public Utilities, Nimal Siripala de Silva. The Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Northern Rehabilitation, de Silva was visiting Jaffna to supervise on-going reconstruction projects. Arriving in Jaffna at 9am, the minister participated in a discussion related to the reconstruction of Jaffna, followed by free book distribution ceremony at the Holy Family Convent, Jaffna. He then proceeded to a new Building Materials Corporation (BMC) outlet on Stanley Road, one of a string of such outlets in the north. After the ceremonial opening of the outlet, de Silva proceeded towards his Mitsubishi Pajero vehicle belonging to the Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps to continue onto a meeting with officers in charge of rehabilitation work at the Jaffna Kachcheri. His vehicle was to be driven by the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army 512 Brigade and Brigade Commander for