As defence secretary in his elder brother then Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa's cabinet, he led the war against the LTTE and decimated the Tigers.
From national hero in 2009 to national disgrace in 2022, what a fall it has been for Lieutenant Colonel Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa (retd).
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on Gota's flight in the middle of the night.
Dom's Take: Run Gota Run
'It was not a mob. It was a revolution'
'No one knows who is going to be in charge'
Gotabaya still in Maldives, yet to submit resignation