Major General Sathyapriya Liyanage has been appoited new Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army.

He succeeds Lt. General Shavendra Silva who was recently appointed the Army Commander by President Maithripala Sirisena.

In his illustrious career spanning over 35 years, Liyanage has held vital and important Command, Staff and Instructor appointments. Some of the significant Command appointments that he has held include Commanding Officer of 4th Armoured Regiment, Town Commandant of Trincomalee, Commander of 523 Infantry Brigade, Commander Armoured Brigade and Deputy General Officer Commanding in 55 Infantry Division.

He was handpicked to raise and command the Task Force - 3 during the Humanitarian Operations where he commanded the Task Force until the successful termination of the operations against terrorists. Subsequently, he served as the General Officer Commanding of the 52 Infantry Division and the 64 Infantry Division respectively.

Major General Liyanage, as a Staff Officer, has served numerous appointments such as Colonel Military Secretary at the Army Headquarters, Brigadier General Staff Security Force Headquarters Jaffna, Director General Operations and Systems at the Office of the Chief of Defence Staff, Military Liaison Officer at the Ministry of Defence and the Master General Ordnance at the Army Headquarters.