Commander of the Navy (Sri Lanka)

The Commander of the Navy is the professional head of the Sri Lanka Navy. The current Commander of the Navy is Vice Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne (appointed on 11 July 2015). It is a position comparable to that of First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy or Chief of Naval Operations in the United States Navy.

In the recent past all serving Navy commanders have been of the rank of Vice Admiral, promoted to the Honorary rank of Admiral when retiring or promoted to Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).

History

The Post of Captain of the Navy was created in the Navy Act of 1950 when the Royal Ceylon Navy was created 9 December 1950 as the head of the navy.

In 1972 the "Dominion of Ceylon" became the "Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka" and the Royal Ceylon Navy became the Sri Lanka Navy. The post "Captain of the Navy" was changed to "Commander of the Navy", in keeping with the terminology adopted by the other two services.

List of Commanders

No. Portrait Rank Name Appointment Left Office Decorations
Ceylon Naval Volunteer Force (1938–1950)
1 Captain W. G. Beauchamp 1 February 1938 31 March 1946 VRD, CBE
2 Commander Royce de Mel 1946 1950 OBE
Royal Ceylon Navy (1950–1972)
1 Captain W. E. Banks 2 December 1950 25 November 1951 CBE, DSC
2 Captain J. R. S. Brown 26 November 1951 14 June 1953
3 Commodore P. M. B. Chavasse 15 June 1953 7 November 1955 DSC
4 Rear Admiral Royce de Mel 15 August 1955 15 November 1960 OBE, ADC
5 Rear Admiral Rajan Kadiragamar 16 November 1960 1 July 1970 MVO, ADC
6 Rear Admiral D. V. Hunter 2 July 1970 22 May 1972
Sri Lanka Navy (1972-present)
6 Rear Admiral D. V. Hunter 22 May 1972 31 March 1973
7 Rear Admiral Deshamanya Basil Gunasekara 1 April 1973 31 May 1979
8 Rear Admiral Henry Perera 1 June 1979 31 May 1983 VSV, ndc, psc
9 Vice Admiral Asoka de Silva 1 June 1983 31 October 1986 VSV
10 Admiral H. A. Silva 1 November 1986 31 October 1991 VSV, ndc, psc
11 Admiral Clancy Fernando † 1 November 1991 16 November 1992 VSV
12 Admiral D. A. M. R. Samarasekara 16 November 1992 27 November 1997 VSV, USP
13 Admiral H. C. A. C. Thisera 28 January 1997 31 December 2000 VSV, USP, ndc
14 Admiral Daya Sandagiri 1 January 2001 31 August 2005 VSV, USP
15 Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda 1 September 2005 15 July 2009 RSP, VSV, USP
16 Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe 15 July 2009 15 January 2011 RSP, VSV, USP
17 Admiral D. W. A. S. Dissanayake 15 January 2011 27 September 2012 WV, RSP & Bar, VSV, USP
18 Admiral Jayanath Colombage 27 September 2012 30 June 2014 RSP, VSV, USP
19 Admiral Jayantha Perera 1 July 2014 10 July 2015 RWP, VSV, USP, ndc, psc
20 Vice Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne 11 July 2015 Present WV, RWP & Bar, RSP, VSV, USP, ndc, psc, MNI

See also

References

    External links

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