Commander of the Army (Sri Lanka)
| Commander of the Sri Lanka Army | |
|---|---|
| ශ්රී ලංකාවේ යුද්ධ හමුදාපති | |
since 1 June 2022 | |
 Sri Lanka Army | |
| Member of | National Security Council |
| Reports to | Chief of Defence Staff |
| Residence | General's House, Colombo |
| Seat | Army Headquarters |
| Appointer | The President |
| Term length | Not fixed |
| Precursor | Commander of the Ceylon Defence Force |
| Formation | 20 October 1949 as Commander of the Ceylon Army |
| First holder | Brigadier Roderick Sinclair (as Commander, Ceylon Army) |
| Deputy | Chief of Staff of the Army |
| Website | Official website |
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 rank of General on the day of his retirement or after getting the appointment of Chief of Defence Staff. Sepala Attygalle was the first army commander who was promoted to full general on the day of his retirement in 1977. Tissa Weeratunga was the second commander to be promoted to the rank of full general on the day of his retirement in 1985 (after serving as the general officer commanding of the joint operations command).
Sarath Fonseka, Jagath Jayasuriya and Shavendra Silva who were elevated to the rank of General while serving as Commander. Denis Perera and Nalin Seneviratne were promoted to full general in 2007 after 26 years and 19 years of retirement respectively.[2]
The official residence of the commander is General's House, Colombo.
List of officeholders
[edit]From Hamilton Wanasinghe (appointed in 1988) customarily all army commanders are lieutenant generals and were later promoted to full general on the day of his retirement or after becoming the g.o.c. of the joint operations command which is currently known as chief of defence staff.
| No. | Picture | Commander | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Unit of commission |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brigadier The Earl of Caithness CBE, DSO (1906–1965) | 20 October 1949 | 17 May 1952 | 2 years, 210 days | Gordon Highlanders | |
| 2 | Brigadier Sir Francis Reid CBE (1900–1970) | 18 May 1952 | 8 February 1955 | 2 years, 266 days | Royal Artillery | |
| 3 | Major General Anton Muttukumaru OBE, ED (1908–2001) | 9 February 1955 | 31 December 1959 | 4 years, 326 days | Ceylon Light Infantry | |
| 4 | Major General H. W. G. Wijeyekoon OBE, ED (1911–1969) | 1 January 1960 | 31 December 1963 | 3 years, 364 days | Ceylon Light Infantry | |
| 5 | Major General Deshamanya Richard Udugama MBE (1911–1995) | 1 January 1964 | 10 November 1966 | 2 years, 313 days | Ceylon Light Infantry | |
| 6 | Major General Deshabandu Bertram Heyn (1912–1998) | 11 November 1966 | 30 September 1967 | 323 days | Ceylon Light Infantry | |
| 7 | General Deshamanya Sepala Attygalle LVO (1922–2001) | 1 October 1967 | 13 October 1977 | 10 years, 12 days | Sri Lanka Armoured Corps | |
| 8 | General Deshamanya Denis Perera VSV (1930–2013) | 14 October 1977 | 13 October 1981 | 3 years, 364 days | Sri Lanka Engineers | |
| 9 | General Tissa Weeratunga VSV (1930–2003) | 14 October 1981 | 11 February 1985 | 3 years, 120 days | Gemunu Watch | |
| 10 | General Nalin Seneviratne VSV (1931–2009) | 12 February 1985 | 15 August 1988 | 3 years, 185 days | Sri Lanka Engineers | |
| 11 | General Hamilton Wanasinghe VSV (born 1935) | 16 August 1988 | 15 November 1991 | 3 years, 91 days | Sri Lanka Artillery | |
| 12 | General Cecil Waidyaratne VSV (1938–2001) | 16 November 1991 | 31 December 1993 | 2 years, 45 days | Sri Lanka Armoured Corps | |
| 13 | General G. H. De Silva RWP, VSV, USP (born 1940) | 1 January 1994 | 30 April 1996 | 2 years, 120 days | Gemunu Watch | |
| 14 | General Rohan Daluwatte RWP, RSP, VSV, USP (1941–2018) | 1 May 1996 | 15 December 1998 | 2 years, 228 days | Sri Lanka Armoured Corps | |
| 15 | General Srilal Weerasooriya RWP, RSP, VSV, USP (born 1943) | 16 December 1998 | 24 August 2000 | 1 year, 252 days | Sri Lanka Artillery | |
| 16 | General Lionel Balagalle RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, VSP (1947–2023) | 25 August 2000 | 30 June 2004 | 3 years, 310 days | Sri Lanka Artillery | |
| 17 | General Shantha Kottegoda WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, VSP (born 1949) | 1 July 2004 | 5 December 2005 | 1 year, 157 days | Sri Lanka Light Infantry | |
| 18 | General Sarath Fonseka RWP, RSP, VSV, USP (born 1950) | 6 December 2005 | 15 July 2009 | 3 years, 221 days | Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment | |
| 19 | General Jagath Jayasuriya VSV, USP | 15 July 2009 | 1 August 2013 | 4 years, 17 days | Sri Lanka Armoured Corps | |
| 20 | General Daya Ratnayake WWV, RWP, RSP, USP (born 1958) | 1 August 2013 | 21 February 2015 | 1 year, 204 days | Sri Lanka Light Infantry | |
| 21 | General Crishantha de Silva RWP, USP | 22 February 2015 | 4 July 2017 | 2 years, 132 days | Sri Lanka Engineers | |
| 22 | General Mahesh Senanayake RWP, RSP, VSV, USP | 4 July 2017 | 19 August 2019 | 2 years, 46 days | Sri Lanka Engineers | |
| 23 | General Shavendra Silva WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP (born 1964) | 19 August 2019 | 31 May 2022 | 2 years, 285 days | Gajaba Regiment | |
| 24 | Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage RWP, RSP, USP | 1 July 2022 | Incumbent | 2 years, 171 days | Gajaba Regiment |
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References
[edit]- ^ "Sri Lanka : Major General Vikum Liyanage appointed as the new Sri Lanka Army Commander". www.colombopage.com. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
- ^ "Former service chiefs promoted". sundaytimes.lk. 11 November 2007.
External links
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