The Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) is the most senior appointment in the Sri Lankan Armed Forces, and the highest-ranking military officer in service, outranking the heads of each service branch.[1] The CDS does not, however, have operational command authority over service branches, but rather oversees inter-service co-operation and develops and implements the joint operations doctrine of the Sri Lankan armed forces.[2] Coordination of inter-service joint operations are handled by the Office of the Chief of the Defence Staff, formally known as the Joint Operations Headquarters.
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (January 2020) |
| Chief of the Defence Staff | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sri Lanka Armed Forces | |
| Member of | National Security Council |
| Reports to | President of Sri Lanka Minister of Defence |
| Seat | Office of the Chief of Defence Staff, Block No. 5, BMICH, Bauddhaloka mawatha, Colombo 7 |
| Appointer | The President |
| Term length | Term of two years. An officer serving as the CDS shall be eligible to be re-appointed for one more term of two years. In a time of emergency, the President may re- appoint the officer serving as the CDS for any number of such terms of office. |
| Constituting instrument | Chief of Defence Staff Act, No. 35 of 2009 |
| Formation | 11 February 1985 as General Officer Commanding, Joint Operations Command |
| First holder | General Tissa Weeratunga (as GOC-JOC) |
| Website | Official website |
The CDS is the Chairman of a Committee made up of service commanders and is a member of the National Security Council.
It's subordinate command is known as the Overall Operational Command.
History
The post could be traced back to post of general officer commanding (GOC) of the Joint Operations Command when General T. I. Weerathunga was first appointed to it on November 2, 1985. The Joint Operations Command was created in 1985 due to a need to co-ordinate of joint operations among the tri-services and the police with the escalation of the Sri Lankan Civil War. The post itself was created in 1999 replacing the civilian post of chief of the Joint Operations Bureau which had existed briefly in 1999. Its powers expanded under the Chief of Defence Staff Act No. 35 of 2009.
In recent years, the Chief of the Defence Staff was appointed to the highest rank in the branch of the Sri Lankan armed forces to which he belonged (equivalent to a British "four-star" rank) being a General, an Admiral or an Air Chief Marshal. According to the new Bill, the president of Sri Lanka appoints to the post of Chief of Defence Staff any person presently serving as Commander of the Army, Navy or the Air Force, to function under the direction, supervision and control of the permanent secretary to the Ministry of Defence.
Responsibilities
- Assist in providing for the strategic direction of the armed forces
- Development of doctrine for the joint employment of the armed forces
- Facilitation of preparation of strategic plans for the armed forces
- Co-ordination of matters relating to intelligence as between the armed forces;
- To undertake assessments to determine the capabilities of the armed forces in comparison with those of their potential
- Preparation of operational plans for the armed forces
Supporting and associated posts
The CDS is assisted by a chief of staff (two-star rank) and four director generals (operations and systems, training, naval and air operations, coordination) making up the Office of the Chief of the Defence Staff. In addition, the CDS has a personal staff consisting of the secretary to the CDS, two aides-de-camp, and principal staff officers.
General officer commanding, Joint Operations Command (1985–1993)
| No. | Picture | General officer commanding | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | General T. I. Weerathunga VSV | 22 February 1985 | 2 September 1985 | 192 days |  Sri Lanka Army | – | |
| 2 | General Cyril Ranatunga VSV | 5 September 1985 | 31 July 1988 | 2 years, 330 days | Sri Lanka Army | – | |
| 3 | General Hamilton Wanasinghe VSV, USP | 11 November 1991 | 6 September 1993 | 1 year, 299 days | Sri Lanka Army | – |
Chairman, Joint Operations Bureau (1999–2000)
| No. | Picture | Chairman | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | General Rohan Daluwatte WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP | 4 January 1999 | 20 April 2000 | 1 year, 107 days | Sri Lanka Army | – |
Chief of the Defence Staff (2000–present)
Ranks and honours are as at the completion of their tenure:
| No. | Picture | Chief of Defence | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | General Rohan Daluwatte WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP (1941–2018) | 21 April 2000 | 9 October 2003 | 4 years, 278 days | Sri Lanka Army | – | |
| 2 | General Lionel Balagalle RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, VSP | 10 October 2003 | 1 September 2005 | 2 years, 63 days | Sri Lanka Army | – | |
| 3 | Admiral Daya Sandagiri VSV, USP (born 1947) | 1 September 2005 | 12 June 2006 | 274 days |  Sri Lanka Navy | – | |
| 4 | Air Chief Marshal Donald Perera VSV, USP (born 1950) | 12 June 2006 | 15 July 2009 | 3 years, 33 days |  Sri Lanka Air Force | – | |
| 5 | General Sarath Fonseka RWP, RSP, VSV, USP (born 1950) | 15 July 2009 | 16 November 2009 | 124 days | Sri Lanka Army | – | |
| 6 | Air Chief Marshal Roshan Goonetileke RWP, VSV, USP (born 1956) | 16 November 2009 | 1 August 2013 | 3 years, 197 days | Sri Lanka Air Force | – | |
| 7 | General Jagath Jayasuriya VSV, USP | 1 August 2013 | 15 June 2015 | 1 year, 318 days | Sri Lanka Army | – | |
| 8 | Air Chief Marshal Kolitha Gunathilake RWP, RSP, VSV, USP | 16 June 2015 | 28 June 2017 | 2 years, 12 days | Sri Lanka Air Force | – | |
| 9 | General Crishantha de Silva RWP, USP | 29 June 2017 | 22 August 2017 | 54 days | Sri Lanka Army | – | |
| 10 | Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne WV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP (born 1960) | 22 August 2017 | 31 December 2019 | 2 years, 131 days | Sri Lanka Navy | – | |
| – | General Shavendra Silva WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP (born 1964) Acting | 1 January 2020 | 1 June 2022 | 2 years, 151 days | Sri Lanka Army | – | |
| 11 | General Shavendra Silva WWV, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP (born 1964) | 1 June 2022 | Incumbent | 2 years, 90 days | Sri Lanka Army | [3] |
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See also
References
External links
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