Commander of the Army is the title of the professional head of the Sri Lanka Army . The current Commander of the Army is Lieutenant General Daya Ratnanayake. It is a position comparable to that of Chief of the General Staff of the British Army .
The post traces its roots to the post of General Officer Commanding, Ceylon , which was the title of the General Officer Commanding of the British Army units in Ceylon prior to independence in 1948. After the formation of the Ceylon Army in 1949, its first commanding officer was of the rank of Brigadier , hence the title Commander of the Ceylon Army was formally adapted although it was at times referred as General Officer Commanding, Ceylon as far as the 1960s.
In the recent past serving army commanders have been of the rank of Lieutenant General , promoted to the honorary rank of General when retiring or promoted to Chief of Defence Staff , except in the case of General Sarath Fonseka and Jagath Jayasuriya , in which case he was made General when he was still the Commander of the Army.
General Jagath Jayasuriya relinquished his position as Commander, on 1 August 2013, and was promoted to Chief of the Defence Staff , the most senior appointment in the Sri Lankan Armed Forces .
Commander of the Army, 1949–present [ ]
No.
Portrait
Rank
Name
Appointment
Left office
Unit
Decorations
1
Brigadier Roderick Sinclair , Earl of Caithness10 October 1949
17 May 1952
Gordon Highlanders CBE , DSO
2
Brigadier Sir Francis S. Reid [1]
18 May 1952
8 February 1955
Royal Artillery CBE
3
File:Maj Gen Mutukumaru.jpg Major General Anton Muttukumaru 9 February 1955
31 December 1959
Ceylon Light Infantry OBE , ED , ADC
4
Major General H. W. G. Wijeyekoon 1 January 1960
31 December 1963
Ceylon Light Infantry OBE , ED
5
Major General Deshamanya Richard Udugama 1 January 1964
10 November 1966
Ceylon Light Infantry MBE
6
Major General Bertram Heyn 11 November 1966
30 September 1967
Ceylon Light Infantry
7
File:Lt Gen Attygalle.jpg General Deshamanya Sepala Attygalle 1 October 1967
13 October 1977
Sri Lanka Armoured Corps LVO , ADC
8
General Deshamanya Denis Perera [2] 14 October 1977
13 October 1981
Sri Lanka Engineers VSV
9
General Tissa Weeratunga 14 October 1981
11 February 1985
Gemunu Watch VSV
10
General Nalin Seneviratne [2] 12 February 1985
15 August 1988
Sri Lanka Engineers VSV
11
Lieutenant General Hamilton Wanasinghe 16 August 1988
15 November 1991
Sri Lanka Artillery VSV
12
General Cecil Waidyaratne [3] 16 November 1991
31 December 1993
Sri Lanka Armoured Corps VSV
13
Lieutenant General G. H. De Silva 1 January 1994
30 April 1996
Gemunu Watch RWP , VSV , USP
14
General Rohan Daluwatte 1 May 1996
15 December 1998
Sri Lanka Armoured Corps RWP , RSP , VSV , USP
15
General C. S. Weerasooriya 16 December 1998
24 August 2000
Sri Lanka Artillery RWP , RSP , VSV , USP
16
General L. P. Balagalle 25 August 2000
30 June 2004
Sri Lanka Artillery RWP , RSP , VSV , USP , VSP
17
General Shantha Kottegoda [4] 1 July 2004
5 December 2005
Sri Lanka Light Infantry WWV , RWP , RSP , VSV , USP , VSP
18
General Sarath Fonseka 6 December 2005
15 July 2009
Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment RWP , RSP , VSV , USP
19
General Jagath Jayasuriya 15 July 2009
1 August 2013
Sri Lanka Armoured Corps VSP , USP
20
Lieutenant General R. M. Daya Ratnayake 1 August 2013
present Sri Lanka Light Infantry WWV , RWP , RSP , USP , ndu, psc
See also [ ] References [ ] External links [ ]
Commanders of the Sri Lankan Army
