Commander of the Army (Sri Lanka)
Head of the Sri Lanka Army
The Commander of the Army (Sinhala : ශ්රී ලංකාවේ යුද්ධ හමුදාපති , romanized: śrī laṁkāvē yuddha hamudāpati ) is the title of the professional head of the Sri Lanka Army . The current Commander of the Army is Lt. General Vikum Liyanage .[1]
The post's precursor was known as Commander of the Ceylon Defence Force .
Serving army commanders have by convention been of the rank of Lieutenant General , promoted to the honorary rank of General on retirement or after getting the appointment of Chief of Defence Staff , with the exception of Sarath Fonseka and Shavendra Silva who were elevated to the rank of General while serving as Commander. Another notable figure was Denis Perera , who was promoted to full general in 2007 after 26 years of retirement.[2]
The official residence of the commander is General's House, Colombo .
List of Commanders
No.
Picture
Commander
Took office
Left office
Time in office
Unit of commission
1 Sinclair, Roderick BrigadierThe Earl of Caithness CBE , DSO (1906–1965) 20 October 1949 17 May 1952 2 years, 210 daysGordon Highlanders
2 Reid, Francis BrigadierSir Francis Reid CBE (1900–1970) 18 May 1952 8 February 1955 2 years, 266 daysRoyal Artillery
3 Muttukumaru, Anton Major General Anton Muttukumaru OBE , ED (1908–2001) 9 February 1955 31 December 1959 4 years, 326 daysCeylon Light Infantry
4 Wijeyekoon, H. Major GeneralH. W. G. Wijeyekoon OBE , ED (1911–1969) 1 January 1960 31 December 1963 3 years, 364 daysCeylon Light Infantry
5 Udugama, Richard Major GeneralDeshamanya Richard Udugama MBE (1911–1995) 1 January 1964 10 November 1966 2 years, 313 daysCeylon Light Infantry
6 Heyn, Bertram Major GeneralDeshabandu Bertram Heyn (1912–1998) 11 November 1966 30 September 1967 323 daysCeylon Light Infantry
7 Attygalle, Sepala Lieutenant General Deshamanya Sepala Attygalle LVO (1922–2001) 1 October 1967 13 October 1977 10 years, 12 daysSri Lanka Armoured Corps
8 Perera, Denis Lieutenant GeneralDeshamanya Denis Perera VSV (1930–2013) 14 October 1977 13 October 1981 3 years, 364 daysSri Lanka Engineers
9 Weeratunga, Tissa Lieutenant GeneralTissa Weeratunga VSV (1930–2003) 14 October 1981 11 February 1985 3 years, 120 daysGemunu Watch
10 Seneviratne, Nalin Lieutenant GeneralNalin Seneviratne VSV (1931–2009) 12 February 1985 15 August 1988 3 years, 185 daysSri Lanka Engineers
11 Wanasinghe, Hamilton Lieutenant GeneralHamilton Wanasinghe VSV (born 1935) 16 August 1988 15 November 1991 3 years, 91 daysSri Lanka Artillery
12 Waidyaratne, Cecil Lieutenant GeneralCecil Waidyaratne VSV (1938–2001) 16 November 1991 31 December 1993 2 years, 45 daysSri Lanka Armoured Corps
13 Silva, G. Lieutenant GeneralG. H. De Silva RWP , VSV , USP (born 1940) 1 January 1994 30 April 1996 2 years, 120 daysGemunu Watch
14 Daluwatte, Rohan GeneralRohan Daluwatte RWP , RSP , VSV , USP (1941–2018) 1 May 1996 15 December 1998 2 years, 228 daysSri Lanka Armoured Corps
15 Weerasooriya, C. GeneralSrilal Weerasooriya RWP , RSP , VSV , USP (born 1943) 16 December 1998 24 August 2000 1 year, 252 daysSri Lanka Artillery
16 Balagalle, Lionel GeneralLionel Balagalle RWP , RSP , VSV , USP , VSP (1947–2023) 25 August 2000 30 June 2004 3 years, 310 daysSri Lanka Artillery
17 Kottegoda, Shantha GeneralShantha Kottegoda WWV , RWP , RSP , VSV , USP , VSP (born 1949) 1 July 2004 5 December 2005 1 year, 157 daysSri Lanka Light Infantry
18 Fonseka, Sarath Field MarshalSarath Fonseka RWP , RSP , VSV , USP (born 1950) 6 December 2005 15 July 2009 3 years, 221 daysSri Lanka Sinha Regiment
19 Jayasuriya, Jagath GeneralJagath Jayasuriya VSV , USP 15 July 2009 1 August 2013 4 years, 17 daysSri Lanka Armoured Corps
20 Ratnayake, Daya GeneralDaya Ratnayake WWV , RWP , RSP , USP (born 1958) 1 August 2013 21 February 2015 1 year, 204 daysSri Lanka Light Infantry
21 Silva, Crishantha GeneralCrishantha de Silva RWP , USP 22 February 2015 4 July 2017 2 years, 132 daysSri Lanka Engineers
22 Senanayake, Mahesh GeneralMahesh Senanayake RWP , RSP , VSV , USP 4 July 2017 19 August 2019 2 years, 46 daysSri Lanka Engineers
23 Silva, Shavendra GeneralShavendra Silva WWV , RWP , RSP , VSV , USP (born 1964) 19 August 2019 31 May 2022 2 years, 285 daysGajaba Regiment
24 Liyanage, Vikum Lieutenant GeneralVikum Liyanage RWP , RSP , USP 1 July 2022 Incumbent 1 year, 354 daysGajaba Regiment
References
External links
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