Chief of the Defence Staff (Sri Lanka)

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The Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) is the professional head of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces. The post was created in the 1980s the conceptions of joint operations. The current Chief of the Defence Staff is Air Chief Marshal Donald Perera who succeeded Admiral D.W.K Sandagiri on 12 July 2006.

In resent years, the Chief of the Defence Staff was appointed to the highest rank in the branch of the Sri Lanka armed forces to which he belonged (equivalent to a US "four-star" rank) being a General, an Admiral or a Air Chief Marshal. The CDS is responsible for the administration and the operational control and command of the Sri Lankan military, however the respective service commanders have much autonomy.

Originally the post was referred to as General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Joint Operations Command when General T.I. Weerathunga was first appointed to it November 2, 1985. Later the post was renamed as Chief of the Defence Staff. The Joint Operations Command was created in 1985 due to the need of co-ordination of operations among the tri-services and the police with the escalation of the Sri Lankan Civil War.