Prime Minister of Sri Lanka

Prime Minister of Sri Lanka ශ්‍රී ලංකා අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය இலங்கை பிரதமர்
Emblem of Sri Lanka
Flag of Sri Lanka
Incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe since 9 January 2015
Style	Mr. Prime Minister (Informal) The Honourable (Formal)
Residence	Temple Trees
Appointer	President of Sri Lanka
Term length	6 years
Inaugural holder	Don Stephen Senanayake
Formation	14 October 1947
Succession	Third
Website	Prime Minister's Office

The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka is a member of the Cabinet of Sri Lanka. However, the President is both head of state and head of government in Sri Lanka.

History

The Prime Minister's Office, Colombo.

The first Prime Minister of Ceylon with is Cabinet members

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. United National Party leader D S Senanayake became the first Prime Minister of Then Ceylon in 1947 after independence. 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 a member 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. United National Party leaders Dudley Senanayake and Ranil Wickramasinghe together with Sri Lanka Freedom Party leader Srimavo Bandaranayake was appointed three times to the position.

The current Prime Minister of Sri Lanka is Ranil Wickremesinghe, he was appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena on 9 January 2015. This was the third time that Wickramasinghe was appointed Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.

List of Sri Lankan Prime Ministers

Sri Lanka
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Sri Lanka
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Executive President (List) Maithripala Sirisena Prime Minister (List) Ranil Wickremesinghe Cabinet 15th cabinet Ministries
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Foreign policy Foreign relations
Related issues Civil War Sri Lanka Portal
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Official residence and office

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

• President of Sri Lanka
• Prime Minister's Office

References

External links

• Parliament of Sri Lanka - Handbook of Parliament, Prime Ministers

Prime Ministers of Sri Lanka 1 Don Stephen Senanayake 2 Dudley Senanayake 3 John Kotelawala 4 S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike 5 Wijeyananda Dahanayake 6 Dudley Senanayake 7 Sirimavo Bandaranaike 8 Dudley Senanayake 9 Sirimavo Bandaranaike 10 Junius Richard Jayewardene 11 Ranasinghe Premadasa 12 Dingiri Banda Wijetunga 13 Ranil Wickremesinghe 14 Chandrika Kumaratunga 15 Sirimavo Bandaranaike 16 Ratnasiri Wickremanayake 17 Ranil Wickremesinghe 18 Mahinda Rajapaksa 19 Ratnasiri Wickremanayake 20 Disanayaka Jayaratne 21 Ranil Wickremesinghe