Commander of the Army (Sri Lanka)

Head of the Sri Lanka Army

Commander of the Sri Lanka Army

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ යුද්ධ හමුදාපති

Incumbent
Lieutenant General Lasantha Rodrigo

since 1 January 2025

Sri Lanka Army
Member of| National Security Council
Reports to| Chief of Defence Staff
Residence| General's House, Colombo
Seat| Army Headquarters
Appointer| President of Sri Lanka
Term length| Not fixed
Precursor| Commander of the Ceylon Defence Force
Formation| 20 October 1949; 75 years ago (1949-10-20)
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 Lieutenant General Lasantha Rodrigo.[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 their retirement or after getting the appointment of Chief of Defence Staff which post is now obsolete. 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 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 their retirement or after becoming the g.o.c. of the joint operations command which was later known as chief of defence staff.

No. | Picture  | Commander | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Unit of commission

|
|
|
|
|
|

| Sinclair, RoderickBrigadier
The Earl of Caithness CBE, DSO
(1906–1965)| 20 October 1949| 17 May 1952| 2 years, 210 days| Gordon Highlanders

| Reid, FrancisBrigadier
Sir Francis Reid CBE
(1900–1970)| 18 May 1952| 8 February 1955| 2 years, 266 days| Royal Artillery

| Muttukumaru, AntonMajor General
Anton Muttukumaru OBE, ED
(1908–2001)| 9 February 1955| 31 December 1959| 4 years, 326 days| Ceylon Light Infantry

| Wijeyekoon, H.Major General
H. W. G. Wijeyekoon OBE, ED
(1911–1969)| 1 January 1960| 31 December 1963| 3 years, 364 days| Ceylon Light Infantry

| Udugama, RichardMajor General
Deshamanya Richard Udugama MBE
(1911–1995)| 1 January 1964| 10 November 1966| 2 years, 313 days| Ceylon Light Infantry

| Heyn, BertramMajor General
Deshabandu Bertram Heyn
(1912–1998)| 11 November 1966| 30 September 1967| 323 days| Ceylon Light Infantry

| Attygalle, SepalaGeneral
Deshamanya Sepala Attygalle LVO
(1922–2001)| 1 October 1967| 13 October 1977| 10 years, 12 days| Sri Lanka Armoured Corps

| Perera, DenisGeneral
Deshamanya Denis Perera VSV
(1930–2013)| 14 October 1977| 13 October 1981| 3 years, 364 days| Sri Lanka Engineers

| Weeratunga, TissaGeneral
Tissa Weeratunga VSV
(1930–2003)| 14 October 1981| 11 February 1985| 3 years, 120 days| Gemunu Watch
10|

| Seneviratne, NalinGeneral
Nalin Seneviratne VSV
(1931–2009)| 12 February 1985| 15 August 1988| 3 years, 185 days| Sri Lanka Engineers
11|

| Wanasinghe, HamiltonGeneral
Hamilton Wanasinghe VSV
(1935–2025)| 16 August 1988| 15 November 1991| 3 years, 91 days| Sri Lanka Artillery
12|

| Waidyaratne, CecilGeneral
Cecil Waidyaratne VSV
(1938–2001)| 16 November 1991| 31 December 1993| 2 years, 45 days| Sri Lanka Armoured Corps
13|

| Silva, G.General
G. H. De Silva RWP, VSV, USP
(born 1940)| 1 January 1994| 30 April 1996| 2 years, 120 days| Gemunu Watch
14|

| Daluwatte, RohanGeneral
Rohan Daluwatte RWP, RSP, VSV, USP
(1941–2018)| 1 May 1996| 15 December 1998| 2 years, 228 days| Sri Lanka Armoured Corps
15|

| Weerasooriya, C.General
Srilal Weerasooriya RWP, RSP, VSV, USP
(born 1943)| 16 December 1998| 24 August 2000| 1 year, 252 days| Sri Lanka Artillery
16|

| Balagalle, LionelGeneral
Lionel Balagalle RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, VSP
(1947–2023)| 25 August 2000| 30 June 2004| 3 years, 310 days| Sri Lanka Artillery
17|

| Kottegoda, ShanthaGeneral
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|

| Fonseka, SarathField Marshal
Sarath Fonseka RWP, RSP, VSV, USP
(born 1950)| 6 December 2005| 15 July 2009| 3 years, 221 days| Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment
19|

| Jayasuriya, JagathGeneral
Jagath Jayasuriya VSV, USP
(born 1959)| 15 July 2009| 1 August 2013| 4 years, 17 days| Sri Lanka Armoured Corps
20|

| Ratnayake, DayaGeneral
Daya Ratnayake WWV, RWP, RSP, USP
(born 1958)| 1 August 2013| 21 February 2015| 1 year, 204 days| Sri Lanka Light Infantry
21|

| Silva, CrishanthaGeneral
Crishantha de Silva RWP, USP| 22 February 2015| 4 July 2017| 2 years, 132 days| Sri Lanka Engineers
22|

| Senanayake, MaheshGeneral
Mahesh Senanayake RWP, RSP, VSV, USP| 4 July 2017| 19 August 2019| 2 years, 46 days| Sri Lanka Engineers
23|

| Silva, ShavendraGeneral
Shavendra Silva WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP
(born 1964)| 19 August 2019| 31 May 2022| 2 years, 285 days| Gajaba Regiment
24|

| Liyanage, VikumGeneral
Vikum Liyanage RWP, RSP, USP
(born 1967)| 1 July 2022| 31 December 2024| 2 years, 215 days| Gajaba Regiment
25|

| Rodrigo, LasanthaLieutenant General
Lasantha Rodrigo RSP| 1 January 2025| Incumbent| 216 days| Sri Lanka Artillery

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "New Army, Navy Commanders to be appointed". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 2025-01-01.
2. ^ "Former service chiefs promoted". sundaytimes.lk. 11 November 2007.

## External links

[edit]

* Former Army commanders
* Three Service Commanders promoted

* v
* t
* e

Commanders of the Sri Lankan Army

* 1 Sinclair
* 2 Reid
* 3 Muttukumaru
* 4 Wijeyekoon
* 5 Udugama
* 6 Heyn
* 7 Attygalle
* 8 Perera
* 9 Weeratunga
* 10 Seneviratne
* 11 Wanasinghe
* 12 Waidyaratne
* 13 De Silva
* 14 Daluwatte
* 15 Weerasooriya
* 16 Balagalle
* 17 Kottegoda
* 18 Fonseka
* 19 Jayasuriya
* 20 Ratnayake
* 21 De Silva
* 22 Senanayake
* 23 Silva
* 24 Liyanage
* 25 Rodrigo

* v
* t
* e

Chiefs of the army by country

* Chief of Army Staff

Africa|

* Algeria
* Angola
* Benin
* Botswana
* Burkina Faso
* Burundi
* Cameroon
* Cape Verde
* Central African Republic
* Chad
* Comoros
* DR Congo
* Republic of the Congo
* Djibouti
* Egypt
* Equatorial Guinea
* Eritrea
* Ethiopia
* Gabon
* Gambia
* Ghana
* Guinea
* Guinea-Bissau
* Ivory Coast
* Kenya
* Lesotho
* Liberia
* Libya
* Madagascar
* Malawi
* Mali
* Mauritania
* Morocco
* Mozambique
* Namibia
* Niger
* Nigeria
* Rwanda
* São Tomé and Príncipe
* Senegal
* Seychelles
* Sierra Leone
* Somalia
* South Africa
* South Sudan
* Sudan
* Swaziland
* Tanzania
* Togo
* Tunisia
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

Former|

* Biafra
* Bophuthatswana
* Ciskei
* British Egypt
* Ethiopian Empire
* Rhodesia
* Transkei
* Venda
* Zaire

Americas|

* Antigua and Barbuda
* Argentina
* Bahamas
* Barbados
* Belize
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Canada
* Chile
* Colombia
* Cuba
* Dominican Republic
* Ecuador
* El Salvador
* Guatemala
* Guyana
* Haiti
* Honduras
* Jamaica
* Mexico
* Nicaragua
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Saint Kitts and Nevis
* Suriname
* Trinidad and Tobago
* United States
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

Former|

* Confederate States

Asia|

* Abkhazia
* Afghanistan
* Armenia
* Azerbaijan
* Bahrain
* Bangladesh
* Bhutan
* Brunei
* Cambodia
* China
* East Timor
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* NEZAJA
* NEZSA
* Iraq
* Israel
* Japan
* Jordan
* Kazakhstan
* North Korea
* South Korea
* Kuwait
* Kyrgyzstan
* Laos
* Lebanon
* Malaysia
* Maldives
* Mongolia
* Myanmar
* Nepal
* Oman
* Pakistan
* Philippines
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* Singapore
* Sri Lanka
* Syria
* Republic of China (Taiwan)
* Tajikistan
* Thailand
* Turkmenistan
* United Arab Emirates
* Uzbekistan
* Vietnam
* Yemen

Former|

* Democratic Kampuchea
* Imperial Japan
* Mengjiang
* Manchukuo
* South Vietnam

Europe|

* Albania
* Austria
* Belarus
* Belgium
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Cyprus
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Estonia
* Finland
* France
* Germany
* Georgia
* Greece
* Hungary
* Ireland
* Italy
* Kosovo
* Latvia
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg
* Macedonia
* Malta
* Moldova
* Monaco
* Montenegro
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Poland
* Portugal
* Romania
* Russia
* Serbia
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Turkey
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom
* Vatican

Former|

* Austria–Hungary
* Independent State of Croatia
* Czechoslovakia
* Prussia
* Imperial Germany
* Weimar Republic
* Nazi Germany
* East Germany
* Ottoman Empire
* Russian Empire
* Soviet Union
* Yugoslavia

Oceania|

* Australia
* Fiji
* New Zealand
* Papua New Guinea
* Tonga
* Vanuatu

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