| Post: | Commander |
| Body: | the Sri Lanka Navy |
| Native Name: | ශ්රී ලංකා නාවික හමුදාපති |
| Flag: | Naval Ensign of Sri Lanka.svg |
| Flagborder: | yes |
| Incumbent: | Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera |
| Incumbentsince: | 19 December 2022 |
| Member Of: | National Security Council |
| Reports To: | Ministry of Defence Chief of the Defence Staff |
| Seat: | Naval Headquarters, SLNS Parakrama, Flagstaff street, Colombo 1 |
| Appointer: | The President |
| Termlength: | Not fixed |
| Constituting Instrument: | Navy Act (Chapter 358) |
| Formation: | as Commander of the Ceylon Naval Volunteer Force |
| First: | Captain W. G. Beauchamp |
| Abbreviation: | CofN |
| Deputy: | Chief of Staff of the Navy |
The Commander of the Navy is the professional head of the Sri Lanka Navy. The current Commander of the Navy is Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera. 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 or if appointed as Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).
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.
| No. | Portrait | Rank | Name | Appointment | Left Office | Decorations | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceylon Naval Volunteer Force (1938–1950) | |||||||
| 1 | 1 February 1938 | 31 March 1946 | CBE, VRD | ||||
| 2 | 1946 | 1950 | OBE | ||||
| Royal Ceylon Navy (1950–1972) | |||||||
| 1 | 9 December 1950 | 25 November 1951 | |||||
| 2 | 26 November 1951 | 14 June 1953 | |||||
| 3 | 15 June 1953 | 7 November 1955 | |||||
| 4 | 15 August 1955 | 15 November 1960 | OBE, ADC | ||||
| 5 | 16 November 1960 | 1 July 1970 | MVO, ADC | ||||
| 6 | 2 July 1970 | 22 May 1972 | |||||
| Sri Lanka Navy (1972-present) | |||||||
| 6 | D. V. Hunter | 22 May 1972 | 31 March 1973 | ||||
| 7 | 1 April 1973 | 31 May 1979 | |||||
| 8 | 1 June 1979 | 31 May 1983 | VSV | ||||
| 9 | 1 June 1983 | 31 October 1986 | VSV | ||||
| 10 | 1 November 1986 | 31 October 1991 | VSV | ||||
| 11 | 1 November 1991 | 16 November 1992 | VSV, USP | ||||
| 12 | 16 November 1992 | 27 November 1997 | VSV, USP | ||||
| 13 | 28 January 1997 | 31 December 2000 | VSV, USP | ||||
| 14 | 1 January 2001 | 31 August 2005 | VSV, USP | ||||
| 15 | 1 September 2005 | 15 July 2009 | RSP, VSV, USP | ||||
| 16 | 15 July 2009 | 15 January 2011 | RSP, VSV, USP | ||||
| 17 | 15 January 2011 | 27 September 2012 | WV, RSP & Bar, VSV, USP | ||||
| 18 | 27 September 2012 | 30 June 2014 | RSP, VSV, USP | ||||
| 19 | 1 July 2014 | 10 July 2015 | RWP, VSV, USP | ||||
| 20 | 11 July 2015 | 21 August 2017 | WV, RWP & Bar, RSP, VSV, USP | ||||
| 21 | 22 August 2017 | 26 October 2017 | WWV, RWP, RSP (x3), USP | ||||
| 22 | 26 October 2017 | 31 December 2018 | WWV, RWP, USP | ||||
| 23 | 1 January 2019 | 14 July 2020 | WWV & Bar, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP | ||||
| 24 | 15 July 2020 | 18 Dec 2022 | RSP & Bar, VSV, USP | ||||
| 25 | Vice Admiral | Priyantha Perera | 19 Dec 2022 | Present | RSP **, USP, ndu, psc |