Commander of the Navy (Sri Lanka)
| Sri Lanka Navy |
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| Components |
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The Commander of the Navy is the professional head of the Sri Lanka Navy. The current Commander of the Navy is Vice Admiral Jayanath Colombage (appointed on 27 September 2012). 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.
| No. | Portrait | Rank | Name | Appointment | Left Office | Decorations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Captain | W.E. Banks | December 02, 1950 | November 25, 1951 | CBE, DSC | |
| 2 | Captain | J.R.S. Brown | November 26, 1951 | June 14, 1953 | ||
| 3 | Commodore | P.M.B. Chavasse | June 15, 1953 | November 07, 1955 | DSC | |
| 4 | Rear Admiral | G.R.M. De Mel | August 15, 1955 | November 15, 1960 | OBE, ADC | |
| 5 | Rear Admiral | Rajan Kadiragamar | November 16, 1960 | July 01, 1970 | MVO, ADC | |
| 6 | Rear Admiral | D.V. Hunter | July 02, 1970 | May 21, 1972 |
| No. | Portrait | Rank | Name | Appointment | Left Office | Decorations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Rear Admiral | D.V. Hunter | May 22, 1972 | March 31, 1973 | ||
| 8 | Admiral | Deshamanya Basil Gunasekara[1] | April 01, 1973 | May 31, 1979 | ||
| 9 | Admiral | A.W.H. Perera[1] | June 01, 1979 | May 31, 1983 | VSV | |
| 10 | Vice Admiral | Asoka de Silva | June 01, 1983 | October 31, 1986 | VSV | |
| 11 | Admiral | H.A. Silva | November 01, 1986 | October 31, 1991 | VSV | |
| 12 | Admiral | W.W.E.Clancy Fernando † | November 01, 1991 | November 16, 1992 | VSV | |
| 13 | Admiral | D.A.M.R. Samarasekara | November 16, 1992 | November 27, 1997 | VSV, USP | |
| 14 | Admiral | H.C.A.C. Thisera | January 28, 1997 | December 31, 2000 | VSV, USP | |
| 15 | Admiral | D.W.K Sandagiri, JP | January 01, 2001 | August 31, 2005 | VSV, USP | |
| 16 |  |
Admiral | Wasantha Karannagoda | September 01, 2005 | July 15, 2009 | RSP, VSV, USP |
| 17 |  |
Admiral | Thisara Samarasinghe | July 15, 2009 | January 15, 2011 | RSP, VSV, USP |
| 18 | Vice Admiral | D.W.A.S. Dissanayake | January 15, 2011 | September 27, 2012 | WV, RSP & Bar, VSV, USP | |
| 19 | Vice Admiral | Jayanath Colombage | September 27, 2012 | RSP, VSV, USP |
