The commander of the Navy is the professional head of the Sri Lanka Navy. The current commander of the Navy is Vice Admiral Kanchana Banagoda. It is a position equivalent to that of First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy or Chief of Naval Operations in the United States Navy.
By convention, serving Navy commanders have a rank of vice admiral, and will be promoted to the rank of admiral on retirement.
History The post of Captain of the Navy was created through the Navy Act of 9 December 1950, which also established the Royal Ceylon Navy.
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 in keeping with the terminology adopted by the other two services.
Official residence The official residences of the commander of the Navy is the Navy House in Colombo, formerly the Navy House in Trincomalee.
List of commanders 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:
|-style="text-align:center;" !colspan=7|Ceylon Naval Volunteer Force (1938–1950)
|-style="text-align:center;" !colspan=7|Royal Ceylon Navy (1950–1972)
|-style="text-align:center;" !colspan=7|Sri Lanka Navy (1972–present)
See also Sri Lanka Navy Navy House, Colombo Navy House, Trincomalee Commander of the Army Commander of the Air Force
References
External links Sri Lanka Navy