[1] After school, he joined the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya where he graduated with a B.A.
[2] Fernando taught at Nagoda Royal National College for a period of time before joining the Sri Lanka Administrative Service (SLAS).
[2] He was a consultant to the United Nations before being appointed Defence Secretary in December 2001.
[2] Newly elected President Maithripala Sirisena appointed Fernando as a presidential adviser on 15 January 2015.
[9][10][11] Fernando is the author of My Belly is White: Reminiscences of a Peacetime Secretary of Defence.