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List of prime ministers of Sri Lanka

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There have been fifteen prime ministers of Sri Lanka since the creation of the position in 1947, prior to the independence of the country (then known as Ceylon). The prime minister of Ceylon was the head of the government until 1972. In 1972, the country was renamed as the Free, Sovereign and Independent Republic of Sri Lanka, and the position was known as the prime minister of Sri Lanka from then onwards. The prime minister also held the unified Ministry of External Affairs and Defence until 1977, when the government of J. R. Jayewardene split the ministry into two ministries, forming the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In 1978, after Jayewardene became the president, new constitutional changes were introduced. The position of the executive president was introduced, resulting in the powers of the prime minister being reduced. The president became the head of state and chief executive,[1] and the prime minister became a weak head of government.[2]

Under the current constitution of Sri Lanka, the prime minister is the leader of the Cabinet business and also functions as a deputy to the president. In the event a president dies in office, the prime minister becomes the acting president until the Parliament convenes to elect a successor or new elections can be held to elect a new president. Such was the case in 1993, when President Ranasinghe Premadasa was assassinated and Prime Minister Dingiri Banda Wijetunga took office as president.[3]

On 28 April 2015, the Parliament approved the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka which gives the power of the government to the prime minister, while the president remains the head of state, head of the Cabinet, and commander-in-chief.[4]

Of the fifteen prime ministers who have held the office since the introduction of the position in 1947, one has held the office four times, two have held office thrice, and two have held office twice. Six prime ministers have gone on to become president of the country.[5]

Ranil Wickremesinghe has been sworn in as prime minister the most times in the country's history, on six occasions (May 1993, December 2001, January 2015, August 2015, December 2018 and May 2022),[6][7] whilst Dudley Shelton Senanayaka and Sirimavo Bandaranayake have each been appointed three times. Mahinda Rajapaksa is the only prime minister who was suspended from his duties by the Supreme Court,[8][9][10] becoming the first de facto prime minister of Sri Lanka in 2018.

List of prime ministers

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Parties

  United National Party (7)   Sri Lanka Freedom Party (6)   Sinhala Bhasha Peramuna (1)   Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (2)   National People's Power (1)

List of prime ministers by length of term

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No. Name Party No. of terms Length of term
Longest continuous term Total years of premiership
1 Sirimavo Bandaranaike SLFP 3 7 years, 55 days 17 years and 204 days
2 Ranasinghe Premadasa UNP 1 10 years, 331 days 10 years, 331 days
3 Ranil Wickremesinghe UNP 5 3 years, 290 days 8 years and 191 days
4 Dudley Senanayake UNP 3 5 years, 65 days 7 years, 20 days
5 Ratnasiri Wickremanayake SLFP 2 4 years, 153 days 5 years, 270 days
6 D. M. Jayaratne SLFP 1 4 years, 263 days 4 years, 263 days
7 D. S. Senanayake UNP 1 4 years, 180 days 4 years, 180 days
8 Mahinda Rajapaksa SLFP, SLPP 3 2 years, 169 days 4 years and 80 days
9 Dingiri Banda Wijetunga UNP 1 4 years, 62 days 4 years, 62 days
10 S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike SLFP 1 3 years, 167 days 3 years, 167 days
11 Dinesh Gunawardena SLPP 1 2 years, 63 days 2 years, 63 days
12 John Kotelawala UNP 1 2 years, 183 days 2 years, 183 days
13 J. R. Jayewardene UNP 1 196 days 196 days
14 Wijeyananda Dahanayake SBP 1 176 days 176 days
15 Chandrika Kumaratunga SLFP 1 85 days 85 days
16 Harini Amarasuriya NPP 1 71 days* 71 days*
Timeline
Harini AmarasuriyaDinesh GunawardenaMahinda RajapaksaD. M. JayaratneRatnasiri WickremanayakeChandrika KumaratungaRanil WickremesingheDingiri Banda WijetungaRanasinghe PremadasaJunius Richard JayewardeneSirimavo BandaranaikeWijeyananda DahanayakeS. W. R. D. BandaranaikeJohn KotelawalaDudley SenanayakeDon Stephen Senanayake

Relations between prime ministers

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Out of the 16 distinct people to have held the office of prime minister, 8 have come from three political families.

Relations Prime ministers Political family
Husband and wife S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike and Sirimavo Bandaranaike Bandaranaike
Father and son D. S. Senanayake and Dudley Senanayake Senanayake
Father and daughter S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike and Chandrika Kumaratunga Bandaranaike
Mother and daughter Sirimavo Bandaranaike and Chandrika Kumaratunga Bandaranaike
Uncle and nephew D. S. Senanayake and John Kotelawala Senanayake
Cousins Dudley Senanayake and John Kotelawala Senanayake
First cousins once removed Junius Richard Jayewardene and Ranil Wickremesinghe Wijewardene

Living prime ministers

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Living as of November 2024
Prime Minister Date of birth Premiership
Ranil Wickremesinghe (1949-03-24) 24 March 1949 (age 75) 1993–1994, 2001–2004, 2015–2018, 2018–2019, 2022
Chandrika Kumaratunga (1945-06-29) 29 June 1945 (age 79) 1994–1994
Mahinda Rajapaksa (1945-11-18) 18 November 1945 (age 79) 2004–2005, 2018, 2019–2022,
Dinesh Gunawardena (1949-03-02) 2 March 1949 (age 75) 2022–2024
Harini Amarasuriya (1970-03-06) 6 March 1970 (age 54) 2024–present

See also

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Notes

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  1. The Parliament was known as the "House of Representatives" during the period of 1947–1972
  2. In 1972, the country was named "Free, Sovereign and Independent Republic of Sri Lanka", and the Parliament was named as the National State Assembly.
  3. Under the constitutional changes of 1978, the country was renamed as the "Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka", and the Parliament was referred to as "Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka".

References

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General
Specific
  1. ^ V. Jayanth (2003-11-15). "Sri Lanka's executive presidency"[usurped]. The Hindu. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
  2. ^ a b c V.S. Sambandan (2005-11-22). "Ratnasiri Wickremanayake appointed Sri Lankan Premier" Archived 10 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine. The Hindu. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  3. ^ a b M.B. Dassanayake (2008-09-22). "Dingiri Banda Wijetunga - the journey to greatness" Archived 27 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Daily News. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  4. ^ "Sri Lanka: 19A to the Constitution passed in parliament".
  5. ^ Wanniarachchi, Lakruwan. "Sri Lanka's new president gets down to mending ties". 10 January 2015. Business Insider AFP. Archived from the original on 13 January 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  6. ^ "International News, Breaking World News, Latest International News". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  7. ^ Jayasinghe, Uditha; Pal, Alasdair (12 May 2022). "He's back: Wickremesinghe named Sri Lankan PM for 6th time amid crisis". Reuters.
  8. ^ "Sri Lankan court bars Rajapakse from working as PM". 4 December 2018. Archived from the original on 30 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  9. ^ "Sri Lanka temporarily bars Rajapaksa from acting as PM". Archived from the original on 30 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  10. ^ "Sri Lanka court denies Rajapakse authority to act as PM". Archived from the original on 30 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa "Prime Ministers". Parliament.lk. Archived from the original on 30 August 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  12. ^ "Senanayake, Don Stephen (1884–1952)" Archived 27 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine. The History Channel. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  13. ^ Buddhika Kurukularatne (2007-06-19). "Dudley – the reluctant Prince" Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Daily Mirror. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  14. ^ K. T. Rajasingham (2001-11-17). "Sri Lanka: The Untold Story" Archived 26 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Asia Times Online. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
  15. ^ "Bandaranaike, Solomon West Ridgeway Dias". history.com. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  16. ^ "Short Term" Archived 26 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Time. 1959-12-14. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  17. ^ a b c d "Sirimavo Bandaranaike: First woman premier" Archived 6 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine. BBC News. 2000-10-10. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  18. ^ Neville de Silva. "A Prime Minister who knew his onions" Archived 29 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine . UK Lanka Times. Retrieved 2008-10-06.
  19. ^ "Former Sri Lanka president dies, leaves mixed legacy" [dead link]. CNN. 1996-11-01. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  20. ^ Barbara Crossette (1988-12-21). "MAN IN THE NEWS: Ranasinghe Premadasa; Sri Lankan At the Top". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
  21. ^ "Profile: Ranil Wickramasinghe" Archived 2 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine. BBC News. 2005-11-22. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  22. ^ "Hon Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga (1994–2005)" Archived 3 June 2004 at the Wayback Machine . The official website of the Government of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  23. ^ "Sri Lanka" Archived 22 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine . The History Channel. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  24. ^ "President's Profile" Archived 4 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine . The President's Fund of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  25. ^ "SC grants leave to proceed with Mahinda's appeal". Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  26. ^ "Sri Lanka parliament passes no-confidence motion against Mahinda Rajapaksa". 14 November 2018. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  27. ^ Pathirana, Saroj. "Sri Lanka presidency a close contest after frontrunner pulls out". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  28. ^ Dinesh Gunawardena, Parliament of Sri Lanka