The Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva, has been appointed as Acting Chief of Defence Staff, effective from 1 January 2020.He has been appointed to serve in this position in addition to his present office of the Commander of the Army by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Ravindra C. Gunaratne retired from service on Tuesday (31 December).