Wikipedia

President of Sri Lanka

head of state and government of Sri Lanka

The president of Sri Lanka is the elected head of state and the chief executive. The president is a dominant political figure in Sri Lanka. The office was created in 1972, as more of a ceremonial position. It was empowered with executive powers by the 1978 Constitution introduced by J. R. Jayewardene.

President of Sri Lanka
ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජනාධිපති
இலங்கை சனாதிபதி
Emblem of Sri Lanka
Flag of Sri Lanka
Incumbent
Anura Kumara Dissanayake
since 23 September 2024
Style
    • Mr. President
      (Informal)
    • His Excellency
      (Formal)
Member ofCabinet
National Security Council
ResidencePresident's House
NominatorCitizens of Sri Lanka
AppointerDirect election
See eligibility
Term lengthFive years, renewable once
Constituting instrumentConstitution of Sri Lanka
PrecursorMonarch of Ceylon
Inaugural holderWilliam Gopallawa
under the 1972 Constitution
Formation22 May 1972; 52 years ago (1972-05-22)
First holderWilliam Gopallawa
SuccessionSri Lankan presidential line of succession
DeputyPrime Minister
Websitepresident.gov.lk
Presidential Secretariat

Presidents

change
Parties

  Independent (1)   United National Party (4)   Sri Lanka Freedom Party (3)   Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (1)   National People's Power (1)


No. Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)
Home province 		Term of office
Electoral mandates
Time in office 		Other ministerial offices
held while president 		Political party
of president 		Government Ref.
1    
William Gopallawa
විලියම් ගොපල්ලව
வில்லியம் கோபள்ளவா
(1896–1981)
Central 		22 May
1972 		4 February
1978 		Independent Sirimavo Bandaranaike II 10th [1]
—
5 years, 8 months and 13 days
Served as the last Governor-General of Ceylon and the first (non-executive) President when Ceylon declared itself a republic in 1972, and changed its name to Sri Lanka.
2    
Junius Richard Jayewardene
ජුනියස් රිචඩ් ජයවර්ධන
ஜூனியஸ் ரிச்சட் ஜயவர்தனா
(1906–1996)
Western 		4 February
1978 		2 January
1989 		Minister of Defence
Minister of Planning & Economic Affairs
Minister of Plan Implementation
Minister of Higher Education 		United National Party Jayewardene 11th
12th 		[1]
1982
10 years, 11 months and 29 days
Introduced the Executive Presidency in 1978, and assumed the position of president of Sri Lanka.[2]
3    
Sri Lankabhimanya
Ranasinghe Premadasa
රණසිංහ ප්‍රේමදාස
ரணசிங்க பிரேமதாசா
(1924–1993)
Western 		2 January
1989 		1 May
1993† 		Minister of Defence
Minister of Buddha Sasana
Minister of Policy Planning & Implementation 		United National Party Premadasa 13th [1]
1988
4 years and 4 months
Assassinated during a May Day rally by an LTTE suicide bomber.
4  
Sri Lankabhimanya
Dingiri Banda Wijetunga
ඩිංගිරි බණ්ඩා විජේතුංග
டிங்கிரி பண்ட விஜேதுங்க
(1916–2008)
Central 		1 May
1993 		7 May
1993 		Minister of Defence
Minister of Finance
Minister of Buddhist Affairs 		United National Party Wijetunga I 13th [1]
7 May
1993 		12 November
1994
1993[N 1] Wijetunga II 14th
1 year, 6 months and 10 days
Prime Minister at the time of Premadasa's assassination. Appointed as acting president and continued in that capacity until 7 May 1993 when he was elected by Parliament to the office of president under Article 40 of the Constitution.
5    
Chandrika Kumaratunga
චන්ද්‍රිකා කුමාරතුංග
சந்திரிகா பண்டாரநாயக்கே குமாரதுங்கா
(born 1945)
Western 		12 November
1994 		19 November
2005 		Sri Lanka Freedom Party Kumaratunga 14th
15th 		[1]
1994, 1999 16th
11 years and 7 days 17th
The first non-UNP president of the country. Appointed her mother, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, to succeed her as prime minister. Victim of multiple assassination attempts by the LTTE, all of which were unsuccessful.
6    
Mahinda Rajapaksa
මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ
மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ
(born 1945)
Southern 		19 November
2005 		9 January
2015 		Minister of Defence
Minister of Finance
Minister of Law & Order
Minister of Highways, Ports & Shipping 		Sri Lanka Freedom Party Mahinda Rajapaksa 17th
18th 		[1]
2005, 2010
9 years, 1 month and 21 days
Ended the 25-year-long Sri Lankan Civil War and LTTE insurgency in the country. Alleged war crimes during the final stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War, various infrastructure development projects, feud with Sarath Fonseka, introduced the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, impeached Shirani Bandaranayake. Defeated in 2015.
7    
Maithripala Sirisena
මෛත්‍රීපාල සිරිසේන
மைத்திரிபால சிறிசேன
(born 1951)
North Central 		9 January
2015 		18 November
2019 		Minister of Defence
Minister of Mahaweli Development and Environment 		Sri Lanka Freedom Party[N 2] Sirisena
(UNP backed coalition) 		18th [1]
2015 19th
4 years, 10 months and 9 days
Defeated Rajapaksa in his unprecedented bid for a third term. Ran as a candidate of the New Democratic Front and was mainly backed by the UNP. 19th Amendment to the Constitution. 100-day reform program. Reinstated Shirani Bandaranayake as Chief Justice. Promoted Sarath Fonseka to the rank of Field Marshal. Failed to act on intelligence of the 2019 Easter bombings.
8    
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ
கோட்டாபய ராஜபக்ஷ
(born 1949)
Southern[3] 		18 November
2019 		14 July
2022 		Minister of Defence
Minister of Technology 		Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Rajapaksa I 19th [1]
2019 Rajapaksa II 20th
Rajapaksa III
2 years, 7 months and 26 days Rajapaksa IV
Appointed Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister. Amassed extensive presidential powers through the 20th Amendment to the Constitution. Economic mismanagement led the country to an economic crisis, and a subsequent political crisis, when he refused to resign in response to massive anti-government protests. Reappointed Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister in May 2022, following Mahinda Rajapaksa's resignation. Resigned on 14 July, after fleeing the country the day before, designating Wickremesinghe as acting president.[4][5][6][7]
9   Ranil Wickremesinghe
රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ
ரணில் விக்ரமசிங்க
(born 1949)
Western 		14 July
2022 		20 July
2022 		Minister of Defence
Minister of Technology
Minister of Finance
Minister of Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment 		United National Party Wickremesinghe 20th [8]
20 July
2022 		23 September
2024
2022[N 1]
2 years, 2 months and 9 days
Appointed as acting president following the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country amidst the 2022 Sri Lankan political crisis.[9] On 20 July 2022 he was elected by Parliament to the office of president under Article 40 of the Constitution.
10 Anura Kumara Dissanayake
අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක
அநுர குமார
(born 1968)
Western 		23 September
2024 		Incumbent National People's Power Dissanayake 20th
2024
1 month and 28 days
Defeated Premadasa and Wickremesinghe in a three-way contest.
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Indirect election by parliarment.
  2. ↑ Elected as a New Democratic Front candidate.
change

References

change
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "Heads of State". Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  2. ↑ "Former Sri Lanka president dies, leaves mixed legacy". CNN. 1 November 1996. Retrieved 4 October 2008.[dead link]
  3. ↑ "Presidential candidates cast their votes". News First. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  4. ↑ Pathi, Krutika (13 July 2022). "Thousands protest against Sri Lanka's new acting president". Associated Press. Colombo. Retrieved 14 July 2022. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled on a military jet on Wednesday after angry protesters seized his home and office, and appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as acting president while he is overseas.
  5. ↑ Marian, Teena (14 July 2022). "Speaker yet to receive GRs resignation". News First. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  6. ↑ Jayasinghe, Uditha (14 July 2022). "Sri Lanka awaits president's resignation after flight". Reuters. Colombo. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  7. ↑ "Sri Lanka Crisis LIVE Updates: Gotabaya Rajapaksa steps down as president, emails resignation letter to parliament speaker". Times Of India. 14 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  8. ↑ Gunasekara, Skandha; Schmall, Emily; Mashal, Mujib (14 July 2022). "Sri Lanka's President Resigns After Months of Protest". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  9. ↑ Sri Lanka PM Wickremesinghe sworn in as acting president - govt official
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