General (Sri Lanka)


General is the second-highest rank, and the highest active rank, of the Sri Lankan Army and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of general; it is also considered a four-star rank.
The rank is held by a Chief of the Defence Staff or is mostly awarded as a ceremonial rank to retiring Commanders of the Army.
General is a higher rank than lieutenant general, but is lower than field marshal. General is the equivalent of Admiral in the Sri Lanka Navy and Air Chief Marshal in the Sri Lanka Air Force.

History

When the Ceylon Army was formed the rank of General was the highest rank defined under the Army Act of 1949. Since the formation the British Army officer heading the army held the rank of Brigadier and the first Ceylonese officer to command the army, Anton Muttukumaru was promoted to the rank of Major General in 1958.
In 1974, then commander of the army, Sepala Attygalle was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General and ever since then all serving commanders of the army held the rank of Lieutenant General, customarily promoted to the rank on appointment to the post of commander of the army.
Sepala Attygalle became the first officer to be promoted to the rank of General on his retirement from the army on 13 October 1977. Former Prime Minister of Ceylon, Sir John Kotelawala was appointed to the honorary rank of General of the Volunteer Force in 1980. In 1988, Cyril Ranatunga became the only regular officer to be promoted to the rank of General, without serving as the commander of the army. In 1991, Ranjan Wijeratne was the only person appointed to the rank posthumously. Since 1991, it became customary for all commanders of the army to be promoted to the rank of General on the final day of service if they were retiring or appointed as Chief of the Defence Staff. In 2007, two former commanders of the army were also promoted to the rank of General. In 2009, Sarath Fonseka became the only officer to hold the rank of General, while serving as commander of the army for a brief period. In 2015, the higher ceremonial rank of Field Marshal was created. General remains the highest rank under the Army Act and is the highest pay grade in the army.

List of Generals

Three former members of the volunteer force have been awarded the honorary rank of General of the Volunteer Force of the Army.
A general's insignia is a crossed sword and baton. A Major-General has a pip over this emblem; a Lieutenant-General a Sri Lanka emblem instead of a pip; and a full General both a pip and the Sri Lanka emblem.