Prime Minister of Sri Lanka

Prime Minister of Sri Lanka

Coat of Arms of Sri Lanka
Incumbent
Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Jayaratne
since 21 April 2010
Residence Prime Minister's House
Appointer President of Sri Lanka
Term length 6 years
Inaugural holder Don Stephen Senanayake
Formation 14 October 1947
Succession First
Website Prime Minister's Office

The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka is the functional head of the Cabinet of Sri Lanka. However, the President is both head of state and head of government in Sri Lanka. The Prime Minister acts as the President's deputy, acting on his/her behalf in his/her absence or incapacitation, and is the first in the line of succession.

Contents

History

The post of Prime Minister of Ceylon was created in 1947 prior to independence from Britain and the formation of the Dominion of Ceylon in 1948. In 1972 when Sri Lanka became a republic the name of the post changed to Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. With a Westminster-based political system established the Prime Minister was the head of government therefore held the most powerful political office of the country at the time. This changed with a constitutional change in 1978, when the Executive Presidency was created, making the President both head of state and head of government. Until 1978 the Prime minister was also the Minister of Defence and External Affairs. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President as head of the cabinet of ministers. In the event the president dies in office the Prime Minister becomes the acting president until Parliament convenes to elect a successor or new elections could be held to elect a new president. This was the case with H.E. President Dingiri Banda Wijetunge.

The current Prime Minister of Sri Lanka is D. M. Jayaratne, who was appointed by H.E. the President Mahinda Rajapaksa on 21 April 2010.[1]

List of Sri Lankan Prime Ministers

Sri Lanka

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Main article: List of Prime Ministers of Sri Lanka

Other information

The official residence of the prime minister is the Prime Minister's House most commonly referred to as Temple Trees. The Prime Minister's Office is located on Sir Ernest de Silva Mawatha (formerly known as Flower Road) in Colombo.

See also

References

  1. ^ D.M Jayaratne sworn in as PM, Daily Mirror, 2010-04-21

External links

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