Commander of the Navy (Sri Lanka)

The post of Captain of the Navy was created through the Navy Act of 9 December 1950, which also established the Royal Ceylon Navy.^[1]

In 1972, the "Dominion of Ceylon" became the "Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka" and the Royal Ceylon Navy was renamed the Sri Lanka Navy. The title "Captain of the Navy" was changed to "Commander of the Navy" through the Navy (Amendment) Law, No. 33 of 1976^[2] in keeping with the terminology adopted by the other two services.

The official residences of the commander of the Navy is the Navy House in Colombo, formerly the Navy House in Trincomalee.

The following table lists all those who have held the post of Commander of the Navy or its preceding positions. Ranks and honours are as at the completion of their tenure:

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No.	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref.
Ceylon Naval Volunteer Force (1938–1950)
1		Captain W. G. Beauchamp CBE, VRD (1890–1960)	1 February 1938	31 March 1946	8 years, 58 days
2		Rear Admiral Royce de Mel OBE (1917–unknown)	31 March 1946	9 December 1950	4 years, 253 days
Royal Ceylon Navy (1950–1972)
1		Captain W. E. Banks DSC (1900–1986)	9 December 1950	25 November 1951	351 days
2		Captain J. R. S. Brown	26 November 1951	14 June 1953	1 year, 200 days
3		Captain P. M. B. Chavasse DSC (1908–1994)	15 June 1953	7 November 1955	1 year, 357 days
4		Rear Admiral Royce de Mel OBE, ADC (1917–unknown)	15 August 1955	15 November 1960	5 years, 92 days
5		Rear Admiral Rajan Kadiragamar MVO, ADC (1922–unknown)	16 November 1960	1 July 1970	9 years, 227 days
Sri Lanka Navy (1972–present)
6		Rear Admiral D. V. Hunter (1917–unknown)	2 July 1970	31 March 1973	2 years, 272 days
7		Admiral Deshamanya Basil Gunasekara (1929–2024)	1 April 1973	31 May 1979	6 years, 60 days
8		Admiral Henry Perera VSV (1930–2009)	1 June 1979	31 May 1983	4 years, 30 days
9		Vice Admiral Asoka de Silva VSV (1931–2006)	1 June 1983	31 October 1986	3 years, 152 days
10		Admiral H. A. Silva VSV (1936–1999)	1 November 1986	31 October 1991	4 years, 364 days
11		Admiral Clancy Fernando † VSV, USP (1938–1992)	1 November 1991	16 November 1992	1 year, 15 days
12		Admiral D. A. M. R. Samarasekara VSV, USP (1948–2022)	16 November 1992	27 November 1997	5 years, 11 days
13		Admiral H. C. A. C. Thisera VSV, USP (born 1947)	28 January 1997	31 December 2000	3 years, 338 days
14		Admiral Daya Sandagiri VSV, USP (born 1946)	1 January 2001	31 August 2005	4 years, 242 days
15		Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda RSP, VSV, USP (born 1952)	1 September 2005	15 July 2009	3 years, 317 days
16		Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe RSP, VSV, USP (born 1955)	15 July 2009	15 January 2011	1 year, 184 days
17		Admiral D. W. A. S. Dissanayake WV, RSP, VSV, USP (born 1956)	15 January 2011	27 September 2012	1 year, 256 days
18		Admiral Jayanath Colombage RSP, VSV, USP (born 1957)	27 September 2012	30 June 2014	1 year, 276 days
19		Admiral Jayantha Perera RWP, VSV, USP	1 July 2014	10 July 2015	1 year, 9 days
20		Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne WV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP (born 1962)	11 July 2015	21 August 2017	2 years, 41 days
21		Admiral Travis Sinniah WWV, RWP, RSP, USP	22 August 2017	26 October 2017	65 days
22		Admiral Sirimevan Ranasinghe WWV, RWP, USP	26 October 2017	31 December 2018	1 year, 66 days
23		Admiral Piyal De Silva WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP	1 January 2019	14 July 2020	1 year, 195 days
24		Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne RSP, VSV, USP	15 July 2020	18 December 2022	2 years, 156 days
25		Admiral Priyantha Perera RSP, USP	19 December 2022	31 December 2024	2 years, 12 days
26		Admiral Kanchana Banagoda RSP, USP	31 December 2024	1 July 2026	1 year, 182 days	[3]
27		Vice Admiral Damian Fernando RSP, USP	1 July 2026	Incumbent	72 days	[4]

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