Prime Minister of Sri Lanka

Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
ශ්‍රී ලංකා අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය
இலங்கை பிரதமர்

Incumbent
Ranil Wickremesinghe
since 9 January 2015
Style Mr. Prime Minister
(Informal)
The Honourable
(Formal and diplomatic)
Member of Cabinet
Reports to Parliament
Residence Temple Trees
Appointer President of Sri Lanka
Term length Five years
Constituting instrument Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Inaugural holder Don Stephen Senanayake
Formation 14 October 1947 (1947-10-14)
Succession First in the
presidential line of succession
Website Prime Minister's Office
Sri Lanka
Coat of arms of Sri Lanka, showing a lion holding a sword in its right forepaw surrounded by a ring made from blue lotus petals which is placed on top of a grain vase sprouting rice grains to encircle it. A Dharmacakra is on the top while a sun and moon are at the bottom on each side of the vase.
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Sri Lanka

The Prime Minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhalese: ශ්‍රී ලංකා අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය Sri Lanka Agramathya; Tamil: இலங்கை பிரதமர்) is the leader of the cabinet business in Sri Lanka. However, the President is both head of state and head of government in Sri Lanka.

History

The first Prime Minister of Ceylon with his 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 post president is vacant, 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 Sirimavo Bandaranaike was appointed three times to the position. With passing of the 19th amendment to the constitution in 2015, the prime minister was granted more powers when appointing ministers and leading the cabinet.

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.

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.

Last election

 Summary of the 2015 Sri Lankan parliamentary election[1][2]
Alliances and parties Votes % Seats
District National Total
  United National Front for Good Governance[lower-alpha 1] 5,098,916 45.66% 93 13 106
  United People's Freedom Alliance 4,732,664 42.38% 83 12 95
  Tamil National Alliance[lower-alpha 7] 515,963 4.62% 14 2 16
  Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna 543,944 4.87% 4 2 6
  Sri Lanka Muslim Congress[lower-alpha 3] 44,193 0.40% 1 0 1
  Eelam People's Democratic Party 33,481 0.30% 1 0 1
  Independents 42,828 0.38% 0 0 0
  All Ceylon Makkal Congress[lower-alpha 2] 33,102 0.30% 0 0 0
  Democratic Party 28,587 0.26% 0 0 0
Buddhist People's Front 20,377 0.18% 0 0 0
  Tamil National People's Front[lower-alpha 8] 18,644 0.17% 0 0 0
  Ceylon Workers' Congress[lower-alpha 4] 17,107 0.15% 0 0 0
  Frontline Socialist Party 7,349 0.07% 0 0 0
United People's Party 5,353 0.05% 0 0 0
Others 24,467 0.22% 0 0 0
Valid Votes 11,166,975 100.00% 196 29 225
Rejected Votes 517,123
Total Polled 11,684,098
Registered Electors 15,044,490
Turnout 77.66%

List of Prime Ministers

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The UNFGG contested under the name and symbol of UNP.
  2. 1 2 The ACMC contested separately in one district (Ampara) and with the UNFGG in other districts.
  3. 1 2 The SLMC contested separately in two districts (Batticaloa and Vanni) and with the UNFGG in other districts.
  4. 1 2 The CWC contested separately in three districts (Badulla, Kandy and Kegalle) and with the UPFA in other districts.
  5. ↑ The CF contested separately in two districts (Nuwara Eliya and Vanni) and with the UPFA in other districts.
  6. ↑ The LP contested separately in four districts (Colombo, Galle, Kurunegala and Matara) and with the UPFA in other districts.
  7. ↑ The TNA contested under the name and symbol of ITAK.
  8. ↑ The TNPF contested under the name and symbol of ACTC.

References

  1. ↑ "Parliamentary Election - 17-08-2015 - Official Election Results — All Island Results". Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
  2. ↑ "Parliamentary Election - 17-08-2015 - Official Election Results — Composition of the Parliament". Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
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