Commander of the Army (Sri Lanka)

Commander of the Sri Lanka Army
Incumbent
Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake
since 4 July 2017
Sri Lanka Army
Member of National Security Council
Reports to Ministry of Defence
Chief of Defence Staff
Appointer The President
Term length Not fixed
Extendable
Constituting instrument Army Act, No. 17 of 1949
Precursor Commander of the Ceylon Defence Force
Formation 20 October 1949 (1949-10-20)
as Commander of the Ceylon Army
First holder Brigadier Roderick Sinclair (as Commander Ceylon Army)
Deputy Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army

The Commander of the Army is the title of the professional head of the Sri Lanka Army.[1] The current Commander of the Army is Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake.[2]

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. After the formation of the Ceylon Army in 1949, the title Commander of the Ceylon Army was formally adopted although it was at times referred to as General Officer Commanding, Ceylon until as late as the 1960s. Brig. Roderick Sinclair, 19th Earl of Caithness was the first Commander of the army of independent Sri Lanka (then Ceylon).

Since the 1980s serving army commanders have by convention been 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 posthumously, e.g. Denis Perera, who was promoted to full general in 2007 after 26 years of retirement in recognition to his service.[3]

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.

List of Commanders (including Commanders of the Ceylon Army)

No. Portrait Rank Name Appointment Left office Unit Decorations
1BrigadierRoderick Sinclair20 October 194917 May 1952Gordon HighlandersCBE, DSO
2BrigadierSir Francis S. Reid18 May 19528 February 1955Royal ArtilleryCBE
3Major GeneralAnton Muttukumaru9 February 195531 December 1959Ceylon Light InfantryOBE, ED, ADC
4Major GeneralH. W. G. Wijeyekoon1 January 196031 December 1963Ceylon Light InfantryOBE, ED
5Major GeneralDeshamanya Richard Udugama1 January 196410 November 1966Ceylon Light InfantryMBE
6Major GeneralBertram Heyn11 November 196630 September 1967Ceylon Light Infantry
7Lieutenant GeneralDeshamanya Sepala Attygalle1 October 196713 October 1977Sri Lanka Armoured CorpsLVO, ADC
8Lieutenant GeneralDeshamanya Denis Perera14 October 197713 October 1981Sri Lanka EngineersVSV
9Lieutenant GeneralTissa Weeratunga14 October 198111 February 1985Gemunu WatchVSV
10Lieutenant GeneralNalin Seneviratne12 February 198515 August 1988Sri Lanka EngineersVSV
11Lieutenant GeneralHamilton Wanasinghe16 August 198815 November 1991Sri Lanka ArtilleryVSV
12Lieutenant GeneralCecil Waidyaratne16 November 199131 December 1993Sri Lanka Armoured CorpsVSV
13Lieutenant GeneralG. H. De Silva1 January 199430 April 1996Gemunu WatchRWP, VSV, USP
14Lieutenant GeneralRohan Daluwatte1 May 199615 December 1998Sri Lanka Armoured CorpsRWP, RSP, VSV, USP
15Lieutenant GeneralC. S. Weerasooriya16 December 199824 August 2000Sri Lanka ArtilleryRWP, RSP, VSV, USP
16Lieutenant GeneralLionel Balagalle25 August 200030 June 2004Sri Lanka ArtilleryRWP, RSP, VSV, USP, VSP
17Lieutenant GeneralShantha Kottegoda1 July 20045 December 2005Sri Lanka Light InfantryWWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, VSP
18Lieutenant GeneralSarath Fonseka6 December 200515 July 2009Sri Lanka Sinha RegimentRWP, RSP, VSV, USP
19Lieutenant GeneralJagath Jayasuriya15 July 20091 August 2013Sri Lanka Armoured CorpsVSP, USP
20Lieutenant GeneralDaya Ratnayake1 August 201321 February 2015Sri Lanka Light InfantryWWV, RWP, RSP, USP
21Lieutenant GeneralCrishantha de Silva22 February 20154 July 2017Sri Lanka EngineersRWP, USP
22Lieutenant GeneralMahesh Senanayake4 July 2017presentSri Lanka EngineersRWP, USP

See also

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.
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