Commander of the Army (Sri Lanka)
Commander of the Sri Lanka Army | |
---|---|
ශ්රී ලංකාවේ යුද්ධ හමුදාපති | |
since 1 June 2022 | |
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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 | The Earl of Caithness CBE, DSO (1906–1965) | Brigadier20 October 1949 | 17 May 1952 | 2 years, 210 days | Gordon Highlanders | |
2 | Sir Francis Reid CBE (1900–1970) | Brigadier18 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 | H. W. G. Wijeyekoon OBE, ED (1911–1969) | Major General1 January 1960 | 31 December 1963 | 3 years, 364 days | Ceylon Light Infantry | |
5 | Deshamanya Richard Udugama MBE (1911–1995) | Major General1 January 1964 | 10 November 1966 | 2 years, 313 days | Ceylon Light Infantry | |
6 | Deshabandu Bertram Heyn (1912–1998) | Major General11 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 | Deshamanya Denis Perera VSV (1930–2013) | General14 October 1977 | 13 October 1981 | 3 years, 364 days | Sri Lanka Engineers | |
9 | Tissa Weeratunga VSV (1930–2003) | General14 October 1981 | 11 February 1985 | 3 years, 120 days | Gemunu Watch | |
10 | Nalin Seneviratne VSV (1931–2009) | General12 February 1985 | 15 August 1988 | 3 years, 185 days | Sri Lanka Engineers | |
11 | Hamilton Wanasinghe VSV (born 1935) | General16 August 1988 | 15 November 1991 | 3 years, 91 days | Sri Lanka Artillery | |
12 | Cecil Waidyaratne VSV (1938–2001) | General16 November 1991 | 31 December 1993 | 2 years, 45 days | Sri Lanka Armoured Corps | |
13 | G. H. De Silva RWP, VSV, USP (born 1940) | General1 January 1994 | 30 April 1996 | 2 years, 120 days | Gemunu Watch | |
14 | Rohan Daluwatte RWP, RSP, VSV, USP (1941–2018) | General1 May 1996 | 15 December 1998 | 2 years, 228 days | Sri Lanka Armoured Corps | |
15 | Srilal Weerasooriya RWP, RSP, VSV, USP (born 1943) | General16 December 1998 | 24 August 2000 | 1 year, 252 days | Sri Lanka Artillery | |
16 | Lionel Balagalle RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, VSP (1947–2023) | General25 August 2000 | 30 June 2004 | 3 years, 310 days | Sri Lanka Artillery | |
17 | Shantha Kottegoda WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, VSP (born 1949) | General1 July 2004 | 5 December 2005 | 1 year, 157 days | Sri Lanka Light Infantry | |
18 | Sarath Fonseka RWP, RSP, VSV, USP (born 1950) | General6 December 2005 | 15 July 2009 | 3 years, 221 days | Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment | |
19 | Jagath Jayasuriya VSV, USP | General15 July 2009 | 1 August 2013 | 4 years, 17 days | Sri Lanka Armoured Corps | |
20 | Daya Ratnayake WWV, RWP, RSP, USP (born 1958) | General1 August 2013 | 21 February 2015 | 1 year, 204 days | Sri Lanka Light Infantry | |
21 | Crishantha de Silva RWP, USP | General22 February 2015 | 4 July 2017 | 2 years, 132 days | Sri Lanka Engineers | |
22 | Mahesh Senanayake RWP, RSP, VSV, USP | General4 July 2017 | 19 August 2019 | 2 years, 46 days | Sri Lanka Engineers | |
23 | Shavendra Silva WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP (born 1964) | General19 August 2019 | 31 May 2022 | 2 years, 285 days | Gajaba Regiment | |
24 | Vikum Liyanage RWP, RSP, USP | Lieutenant General1 July 2022 | Incumbent | 2 years, 86 days | Gajaba Regiment |
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.