List of heads of state of Sri Lanka

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This is a list of the heads of state of Ceylon and Sri Lanka, from the independence of the Dominion of Ceylon in 1948 to the present day.

From 1948 to 1972 the head of state under the Ceylon Independence Act 1947 was the Monarch of Ceylon, who was the same person as the Monarch of the United Kingdom and the other Dominions/Commonwealth realms. The Monarch was represented in Ceylon by a Governor-General. Ceylon became a republic under the Constitution of 1972 and the Monarch and Governor-General were replaced by a ceremonial President. In 1978, under the current Constitution, the President gained executive powers, becoming head of state and government.

Monarch (1948–1972)

The succession to the throne of Ceylon was the same as the succession to the British throne.

№	Monarch (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Reign		Royal House	Prime Minister(s)
№	Monarch (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Reign start	Reign end	Royal House	Prime Minister(s)
1	King George VI (1895–1952)		4 February 1948	6 February 1952	Windsor	D. S. Senanayake
2	Queen Elizabeth II (1926–)		6 February 1952	22 May 1972	Windsor	D. S. Senanayake D. Senanayake Kotelawala S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike Dahanayake D. Senanayake S. Bandaranaike D. Senanayake S. Bandaranaike

Governor-General

The Governor-General was the representative of the Monarch in Ceylon and exercised most of the powers of the Monarch. The Governor-General was appointed for an indefinite term, serving at the pleasure of the monarch. After the passage of the Statute of Westminster 1931, the Governor-General was appointed solely on the advice of the Cabinet of Ceylon without the involvement of the British government. In the event of a vacancy the Chief Justice served as Officer Administering the Government.

Status

Denotes Chief Justice acting as Officer Administering the Government

№	Governor-General (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Tenure		Monarch	Prime Minister(s)
№	Governor-General (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Took office	Left office	Monarch	Prime Minister(s)
1	Sir Henry Monck-Mason Moore (1887–1964)		4 February 1948	29 June 1949	George VI	D. S. Senanayake
–	Sir Arthur Wijewardena (1887–1964)		29 June 1949	6 July 1949	George VI	D. S. Senanayake
2	The Rt. Hon. The Viscount Soulbury (1887–1971)		6 July 1949	17 July 1954	George VI Elizabeth II	D. S. Senanayake D. Senanayake Kotelawala
3	Sir Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke (1892–1978)		17 July 1954	2 March 1962	Elizabeth II	Kotelawala S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike Dahanayake D. Senanayake S. Bandaranaike
4	William Gopallawa (1897–1981)		2 March 1962	22 May 1972	Elizabeth II	S. Bandaranaike D. Senanayake S. Bandaranaike

President of Sri Lanka

Under the 1972 Constitution of the Republic of Sri Lanka, the President replaced the Monarch as ceremonial head of state. The President was elected by the National Assembly for a six-year term. In the event of a vacancy the Prime Minister served as Acting President.

In 1978 Constitution the Presidency became an executive post, the rules was the same as the 1972 Constitution.

Status

Denotes Prime Minister acting as President

№	President (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Tenure		Elected	Political affiliation (at time of appointment)		Prime Minister(s)
№	President (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Took office	Left office	Elected	Political affiliation (at time of appointment)		Prime Minister(s)
Ceremonial President
1	William Gopallawa (1897–1981)		22 May 1972	4 February 1978	–		Independent	Bandaranaike Jayewardene
Executive President
2	J. R. Jayewardene (1906–1996)		4 February 1978	2 January 1989	1982		United National Party	Premadasa
3	Ranasinghe Premadasa (1924–1993)		2 January 1989	1 May 1993 (died in office.)	1988		United National Party	Wijetunga
4	Dingiri Banda Wijetunga (1916–2008)		1 May 1993	7 May 1993	–		United National Party	Wickremesinghe Kumaratunga
4	Dingiri Banda Wijetunga (1916–2008)		7 May 1993	12 November 1994	–		United National Party	Wickremesinghe Kumaratunga
5	Chandrika Kumaratunga (1945–)		12 November 1994	19 November 2005	1994, 1999		Sri Lanka Freedom Party (PA)	Kumaratunga Bandaranaike Wickremanayake Wickremesinghe Rajapaksa
6	Mahinda Rajapaksa (1945–)		19 November 2005	9 January 2015	2005, 2010		Sri Lanka Freedom Party (UPFA)	Wickremanayake Jayaratne
7	Maithripala Sirisena (1951–)		9 January 2015		2015		Sri Lanka Freedom Party (UPFA)^[1]	Wickremesinghe

Standards

Governor-General's Standard (1948–1952)
Governor-General's Standard (1952–1972)
Presidental Standard of Maithripala Sirisena

Living former heads of state

There are three living former Sri Lankan Heads of State:

Name	Term/Reign	Office	Date of birth
Elizabeth II	1952–1972	Queen of Ceylon	(1926-04-21) 21 April 1926
Chandrika Kumaratunga	1994–2005	President of Sri Lanka	(1945-07-29) 29 July 1945
Mahinda Rajapaksa	2005–2015	President of Sri Lanka	(1945-11-11) 11 November 1945

External links

↑ Elected as a New Democratic Front candidate.

Heads of State of Ceylon and Sri Lanka

Monarch of Ceylon (1948–1972)	George VI Elizabeth II

President of Sri Lanka (from 1972)	Gopallawa Jayewardene Premadasa Wijetunga Kumaratunga Rajapaksa Sirisena

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