Commander of the Army (Sri Lanka)

The Commander of the Army is the title of the professional head of the Sri Lanka Army. The Army Commander is assisted by the Chief of Staff of the Army.[1] The current Commander of the Army is General Shavendra Silva.[2]

Commander of the Sri Lanka Army ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ යුද්ධ හමුදාපති
Incumbent General Shavendra Silva since 19 July 2019
Sri Lanka Army
Member of	National Security Council
Reports to	Ministry of Defence Chief of Defence Staff
Appointer	The President
Term length	Usually 3 years Extendable
Constituting instrument	Army Act (Chapter 357)
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

History

The post traces its roots to the post of General Officer Commanding, Ceylon, which was the title of the officer commanding the British Army units stationed in Ceylon prior to independence in 1948. On 10 October 1949, when the Ceylon Army was formed following the enactment of the Army Act, Brigadier Earl of Caithness was appointed as Commandant, Ceylon Army and at times referred to as Commander-in-Chief, Ceylon Army. British Forces in Ceylon came under the short lived General Officer Commanding, Ceylon. The title of the head of the Ceylon Army was changed shortly to Army Commander and since the mid 1950s serving army commanders held the rank of major general.

Since the 1980s serving army commanders have been by convention of the rank of lieutenant general who are promoted to the rank of full general after taking the responsibilities of the Office of the Chief of the Defence Staff. But some commanders were promoted to full general after retirement (or on the day of retirement as a solace to his career-end) or posthumously, e.g. Denis Perera, who was promoted to full general in 2007 after 26 years of retirement in recognition to his service.[3] Some army commanders are promoted to full generals while in active service e.g. Sarath Fonseka and Shavendra Silva were promoted to full generals in 2009 and 2020 respectively.

Appointment

The Commander of the Army is appointed by the President of Sri Lanka under section 8 of the Army Act. The Commander of the Army, is not subjected to the mandatory retirement age of 55 or a maximum permissible service in rank, which commissioned officers are subject to. The appointment has no fixed term and the President may grant service extensions.[4]

Official residence

The official residence of the Commander of the Army is General's House in Colombo. The house was one of several built as Class A Quarters by the British Colonial Government of Ceylon along Bullers Road for the use of government officials and was used as the quarters of the Commander of the British Garrison in Ceylon. Brigadier James Sinclair, the Earl of Caithness took up residence in the house in 1949 after being appointed the first Commander of the Ceylon Army, and it has been used as the Commander's official residence since, with a brief interruption in 1955.

Retiring commanders are allowed to stay on an additional three months post-retirement to better facilitate their transition. The General's House, Nuwara Eliya is the former vacationing and country residence of the Army Commander, which had been used by the British General Officer Commanding, Ceylon.

List of Commanders (including Commanders of the Ceylon Army)

No.	Picture	Commander	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Unit
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		Lieutenant General Deshamanya Sepala Attygalle LVO (1922–2001)	1 October 1967	13 October 1977	10 years, 12 days	Sri Lanka Armoured Corps
8		Lieutenant General Deshamanya Denis Perera VSV (1930–2013)	14 October 1977	13 October 1981	3 years, 364 days	Sri Lanka Engineers
9		Lieutenant General Tissa Weeratunga VSV (1930–2003)	14 October 1981	11 February 1985	3 years, 120 days	Gemunu Watch
10		Lieutenant General Nalin Seneviratne VSV (1931–2009)	12 February 1985	15 August 1988	3 years, 185 days	Sri Lanka Engineers
11		Lieutenant General Hamilton Wanasinghe VSV	16 August 1988	15 November 1991	3 years, 91 days	Sri Lanka Artillery
12		Lieutenant General Cecil Waidyaratne VSV (1938–2001)	16 November 1991	31 December 1993	2 years, 45 days	Sri Lanka Armoured Corps
13		Lieutenant General G. H. De Silva RWP, VSV, USP (born 1940)	1 January 1994	30 April 1996	2 years, 120 days	Gemunu Watch
14		Lieutenant General Rohan Daluwatte RWP, RSP, VSV, USP (1941–2018)	1 May 1996	15 December 1998	2 years, 228 days	Sri Lanka Armoured Corps
15		Lieutenant General C. S. Weerasooriya RWP, RSP, VSV, USP	16 December 1998	24 August 2000	1 year, 252 days	Sri Lanka Artillery
16		Lieutenant General Lionel Balagalle RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, VSP	25 August 2000	30 June 2004	3 years, 310 days	Sri Lanka Artillery
17		Lieutenant 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		Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya VSV, USP	15 July 2009	1 August 2013	4 years, 17 days	Sri Lanka Armoured Corps
20		Lieutenant General Daya Ratnayake WWV, RWP, RSP, USP	1 August 2013	21 February 2015	1 year, 204 days	Sri Lanka Light Infantry
21		Lieutenant General Crishantha de Silva RWP, USP	22 February 2015	4 July 2017	2 years, 132 days	Sri Lanka Engineers
22		Lieutenant 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, USP (born 1964)	19 August 2019	Incumbent	1 year, 174 days	Gajaba Regiment

See also

• General's House, Colombo
• General's House, Nuwara Eliya
• Chief of Defence Staff
• Chief of Staff of the Army
• Sri Lanka Army
• Commander of the Navy
• Commander of the Air Force

References

1. "New Army Commander". Dailynews.lk. Daily News Sri Lanka. 15 July 2009. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
2. "Mahesh Senanayake new army commander". dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
3. "Former service chiefs promoted". sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
4. "Early retirement of top army officers". Island. Retrieved 6 July 2020.

External links

• Former Army commanders
• Three Service Commanders promoted