# Deputy Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army

Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army (DoSA) has been the title of the third in command of the Sri Lanka Army created in 1994. The post is held by a regular officer of the rank of Major General and is the third senior position in the army. Deputy of Staff is charged with assisting the Chief of Staff of the Army in both operational and administrative aspects, functioning as the Acting Army Commander in his absences or incantation.

## List of Deputy Chiefs of Staff

| No | Deputy Chief of Staff | Took office | Left office | Unit of commission | Notes |
| 1 | Major General Rohan Daluwatte | 1994 | 1 June 1995 | Ceylon Armoured Corps | Later Major General Rohan Daluwatte was appointed as 26th Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka Army and later as 14th Commander of the Army and promoted to Lieutenant General. On his retirement he was promoted to General. |
| 2 | Major General W. R. Wijerathne | 1995 | 1995 | Gemunu Watch | |
| 3 | Major General A. M. U. Seneviratne | 1995 | 30 April 1996 | Ceylon Light Infantry | Later Major General A. M. U. Seneviratne was appointed as 27th Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka Army. |
| 4 | Major General Gemunu Kulatunge | 1996 | October 1996 | Ceylon Sinha Regiment | |
| 5 | Major General Srilal Weerasooriya | October 1996 | 22 February 1998 | Ceylon Artillery | Later Major General Srilal Weerasooriya was appointed as 29th Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka Army and later as 15th Commander of the Army and promoted to Lieutenant General. On his retirement he was promoted to General. |
| 6 | Major General Jaliya Nammuni | 1998 | 6 September 1998 | Ceylon Sinha Regiment | |
| 7 | Major General Asoka Jayawardena | 6 September 1998 | 12 November 1998 | Ceylon Light Infantry | |
| 8 | Major General S. T. T. (Sathis) Jayasundera | | | Rajarata Rifles / Gajaba Regiment | |
| 9 | Major General L. P. Balagalle | February 1999 | 1 April 1999 | Ceylon Artillery | Later Major General Lionel Balagalle was appointed as 31st Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka Army and later as 16th Commander of the Army and promoted to Lieutenant General. On 10 October 2003, he was appointed as Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) as serving army commander. |
| 10 | Major General Janaka Perera | 1999 April | 14 June 2000 | Ceylon Engineers | Later Major General Janaka Perera was appointed as 32nd Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka Army |
| 11 | Major General Neil Dias | June 2000 | 1 February 2001 | Ceylon Armoured Corps | Later Major General Neil Dias appointed as 33rd Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka Army. |
| 12 | Major General Lohan Gunawardena | 1 February 2001 | 13 April 2002 | Gemunu Watch | Later Major General Lohan Gunawardena appointed as 34th Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka Army. |
| 13 | Major General A.E.D. Wijendra | 13 April 2002 | 31 August 2003 | Sri Lanka Engineers | |
| 14 | Major General Shantha Kottegoda | 13 August 2003 | 23 November 2003 | Ceylon Light Infantry | Later Major General Shantha Kottegoda was appointed as 35th Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka army and later as 17th Commander of the Army and promoted to Lieutenant General. On his retirement he was promoted to General. |
| 15 | Major General Chula Seneviratne | 23 November 2003 | 30 June 2004 | Ceylon Signals Corps | Later Major General Chula Seneviratne was appointed as 36th Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka army. |
| 16 | Major General Sarath Fonseka | 1 July 2004 | 9 December 2004 | Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment | Later Major General Sarath Fonseka was appointed as 37th Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka Army and later as 18th Commander of the Army and promoted to Lieutenant General. At the end of the war he was promoted to General, becoming the first army commander to hold a full General rank. On 15 July 2009 he was the first person appointed CDS under the newly approved Chief of Defence Staff Act. On On 22 March 2015, he was promoted to Field Marshal. |
| 17 | Major General M.D.S. Chandrapala | 9 December 2004 | 6 December 2005 | Sri Lanka Engineers | |
| 18 | Major General Parami Kulatunga | 6 December 2005 | 24 June 2006 † | Gemunu Watch | Major General Kulatunga was posthumously promoted to the rank of lieutenant general effective from 28 June 2006. |
| 19 | Major General D.V.S.Y. Kulatunga | 24 July 2006 | 3 February 2007 | Sri Lanka Armoured Corps | |
| 20 | Major General N Wijesinghe | 3 February 2007 | 5 February 2008 | Sri Lanka Artillery | |
| 21 | Major General Upul Perera | 7 May 2009 | 29 January 2010 | Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers | |
| 22 | Major General A.L.R. Wijetunga | 22 November 2010 | 11 July 2012 | Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers | |
| 23 | Major General Piyal Abeysekera | 12 July 2012 | 8 May 2014 | Sri Lanka Signals Corps | |
| 24 | Major General Mahinda Ambanpola | 2 June 2014 | 15 February 2016 | Engineer Services Regiment | |
| 25 | Major General K.A.S. Perera | 16 February 2016 | 30 September 2016 | Rajarata Rifles / Gajaba Regiment | |
| 26 | Major General Channa Gunathilaka | 1 November 2016 | 15 December 2016 | Sri Lanka Engineers | Later Major General Channa Gunathilaka was appointed as 49th Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka army. |
| 27 | Major General R.V. Udawatte | 15 December 2016 | July 2017 | Sri Lanka Army Ordnance Corps | |
| 28 | Major General Dampath Fernando | 4 August 2017 | 26 March 2018 | Gemunu Watch | Later Major General Dampath Fernando was appointed as 52nd Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka army. |
| 29 | Major General Ajith Kariyakarawana | 18 April 2018 | 21 April 2019 | Vijayabahu Infantry Regiment | |
| 30 | Major General Vajira Palihakkara | April 2018 | June 2019 | | *Acting Deputy Chief of Staff |
| 31 | Major General Kumudu Perera | 4 July 2019 | 29 October 2019 | Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment | |
| 32 | Major General Nirmal Dharmaratne | 22 November 2019 | 19 April 2020 | Gajaba Regiment | |
| 33 | Major General Rasika Fernando | 2 June 2020 | 30 September 2020 | Gajaba Regiment | |
| 34 | Major General Duminda Sirinaga | 1 October 2020 | 8 January 2021 | Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers | |
| 35 | Major General Wasantha Madola | 14 January 2021 | 7 September 2021 | Sri Lanka Corps of Military Police | |
| 36 | Major General Sampath Kotuwegoda | 8 September 2021 | 21 December 2021 | Sri Lanka Artillery | |
| 37 | Major General Jagath Kodithuwakku | 21 December 2021 | 7 June 2022 | Sri Lanka Light Infantry | Later Major General Jagath Kodithuwakku was appointed as 60th Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka army. |
| 38 | Major General Channa Weerasuriya | 16 June 2022 | 29 November 2022 | Sri Lanka Light Infantry | Later Major General Channa Weerasuriya was appointed as 61st Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka army. |
| 39 | Major General Sujeewa Senarath Yapa | 14 December 2022 | 8 June 2023 | Sri Lanka Army Special Forces Regiment | |
| 40 | Major General Sanjaya Wanasinghe | 8 June 2023 | 14 July 2023 | Sri Lanka Artillery | Later Major General Sanjaya Wanasinghe was appointed as 62nd Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka Army. |
| 41 | Major General C.D Ranasinghe | 18 July 2023 | 27 October 2023 | Gajaba Regiment | |
| 42 | Major General G.R.R.P Jayawardena | 21 November 2023 | 08 December 2023 | Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment | |
| 43 | Major General S.P.A.I.M.B Samarakoon | 15 December 2023 | November 2024 | Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers | |
| 44 | Major General Lasantha Rodrigo | 28 November 2024 | 30 December 2024 | Sri Lanka Artillery | Later Major General B.K.G.M.L Rodrigo was appointed as 25th Commander of the Army and promoted to Lieutenant General. |
| 45 | Major General Chandana Wickramasinghe | 2 January 2025 | 8 February 2025 | Gajaba Regiment | Later Major General Chandana Wickramasinghe was appointed as 66th Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka Army. |
| 46 | Major General Lanka Amarapala | 14 February 2025 | To Date | Sri Lanka Engineers | |