List of prime ministers of Sri Lanka

  • Top left: D. S. Senanayake became the first prime minister of Ceylon in 1947.
  • Top right: Sirimavo Bandaranaike was the first female prime minister of Ceylon and also its longest-serving prime minister, holding the office for over 17 years on three separate occasions.
  • Bottom left: Ranasinghe Premadasa was the longest uninterrupted serving prime minister, holding office for over 10 years from 1978 to 1989.
  • Bottom right: Ranil Wickremesinghe has served as prime minister four separate times and has been sworn in on six occasions, the most of any Sri Lankan prime minister.

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, and the prime minister became a weak head of government.

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.

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.

Of the fourteen 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.

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), 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, becoming the first de facto prime minister of Sri Lanka in 2018.

List of prime ministers

Parties

 United National Party (7)  Sri Lanka Freedom Party (7)  Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (2)

No. Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)
Constituency/Title
Term of office
Electoral mandates
Time in office
Other ministerial offices
held while Prime Minister
Political party
of PM
(Alliance)
Government Refs
1 D. S. Senanayake
දොන් ස්ටීවන් සේනානායක
டான் ஸ்டீபன் சேனாநாயக்க
(1883–1952)
Mirigama
24 September
1947
22 March
1952†
Minister of External Affairs and Defence United National Party D. S. Senanayake 1st
1947
4 years, 5 months and 27 days
The first Prime Minister of Ceylon. The country gained independence from the United Kingdom during his term of office. Died in office.
2 Dudley Senanayake
ඩඩ්ලි ෂෙල්ටන් සෙනානායක
டட்லி சேனநாயக்கா
(1911–1973)
Dedigama
26 March
1952
12 October
1953
Minister of External Affairs and Defence
Minister of Agriculture & Lands
& Minister of Health & Local Government
United National Party Dudley Senanayake I 1st
2nd
1952
1 year, 6 months and 16 days
Appointed as Prime Minister following the death of his father, D. S. Senanayake. His party won at the general elections held in 1952, and he continued to hold office without re-appointment. Resigned amidst the 1953 Ceylonese Hartal.
3 Sir John Kotelawala
ශ්‍රිමත් ජෝන් කොතලාවල
சேர் ஜோன் கொத்தலாவலை
CH, KBE, KStJ, CLI
(1897–1980)
Dodangaslanda
12 October
1953
12 April
1956
Minister of External Affairs and Defence
& Minister of Transport & Works
United National Party Kotelawala 2nd
 —
2 years and 6 months
Sri Lanka joined the United Nations during Kotelawala's term of office.
4 S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike
සොලමන් වෙස්ට් රිජ්වේ ඩයස් බණ්ඩාරනායක
சாலமன் வெஸ்ட் ரிட்ஜ்வே டயஸ் பண்டாரநாயக்கா
(1899–1959)
Attanagalla
12 April
1956
26 September
1959†
Minister of External Affairs and Defence Sri Lanka Freedom Party
(Mahajana Eksath Peramuna)
S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike 3rd
1956
3 years, 5 months and 14 days
Bandaranaike changed the official language of the country from English to Sinhalese. He was assassinated during his term of office.
5 Wijeyananda Dahanayake
විජයානන්ද දහනායක
விஜயானந்த தகநாயக்கா
(1902–1997)
Galle
26 September
1959
20 March
1960
Minister of External Affairs and Defence Mahajana Eksath Peramuna Dahanayake 3rd
 —
5 months and 23 days
Appointed following the assassination of Bandaranaike. Following disagreements with the members of his government and party, he was forced to dissolve the parliament.
(2) Dudley Senanayake
ඩඩ්ලි සේනානායක
டட்லி சேனநாயக்கா
(1911–1973)
Dedigama
21 March
1960
21 July
1960
Minister of External Affairs and Defence United National Party Dudley Senanayake II 4th
March 1960
4 months
Senanayake's government was defeated within a month. Senanayake continued to serve as prime minister until 21 July 1960.
6 Sirimavo Bandaranaike
සිරිමාවො රත්වත්තේ ඩයස් බණ්ඩාරනායක
சிறிமா ரத்வத்தே டயஸ் பண்டாரநாயக்கே
(1916–2000)
21 July
1960
25 March
1965
Minister of External Affairs and Defence Sri Lanka Freedom Party Sirimavo Bandaranaike I 5th
July 1960
4 years, 8 months and 4 days
Sirimavo Bandaranaike was the world's first female prime minister. She was not a member of Parliament at the time of her appointment, and was appointed to the Senate on 2 August 1960.
(2) Dudley Senanayake
ඩඩ්ලි සේනානායක
டட்லி சேனநாயக்கா
(1911–1973)
Dedigama
25 March
1965
29 May
1970
Minister of External Affairs and Defence United National Party Dudley Senanayake III 6th
1965
5 years, 2 months and 4 days
Senanayake was elected prime minister for the third time, when his party formed a coalition government with the help of six other parties, after an election which did not give a clear majority to any party. The agriculture sector was given high priority during his term of office.
(6) Sirimavo Bandaranaike
සිරිමාවො රත්වත්තේ ඩයස් බණ්ඩාරනායක
சிறிமா ரத்வத்தே டயஸ் பண்டாரநாயக்கே
(1916–2000)
Attanagalla
29 May
1970
23 July
1977
Minister of External Affairs and Defence
& Minister of Planning & Employment
Sri Lanka Freedom Party Sirimavo Bandaranaike II 7th
1970
7 years, 1 month and 24 days
Sirimavo Bandaranaike declared the country a republic, and changed the name of the country from Ceylon to Sri Lanka. Nationalized many companies in the plantation sector and imposed restrictions on several imports. This led to the downfall of the country's economy and her defeat in the 1977 general elections.
7 Junius Richard Jayewardene
ජුනියස් රිචඩ් ජයවර්ධන
ஜூனியஸ் ரிச்சட் ஜயவர்தனா
(1906–1996)
Colombo West
23 July
1977
4 February
1978
Minister of Defence
Minister of Planning & Economic Affairs
& Minister of Plan Implementation
United National Party Jayewardene 8th
1977
6 months and 12 days
Introduced the executive presidency in 1978 and became president.
8 Ranasinghe Premadasa
රණසිංහ ප්‍රේමදාස
ரணசிங்க பிரேமதாசா
(1924–1993)
Colombo Central
6 February
1978
2 January
1989
Minister of Local Government, Housing & Construction United National Party Jayewardene 8th
 —
10 years, 10 months and 27 days
The first prime minister to be appointed after the constitutional changes of 1978, with the powers of the position reduced significantly.
9 Dingiri Banda Wijetunga
ඩිංගිරි බණ්ඩා විජේතුංග
டிங்கிரி பண்ட விஜேதுங்க
(1916–2008)
Yatinuwara
6 March
1989
7 May
1993
Minister of Finance
& Minister of Labour & Vocational Training
United National Party Premadasa 9th
1989
4 years, 2 months and 1 day
Appointed in a surprise move by President Ranasinghe Premadasa. Wijetunga himself reacted in surprise at the appointment. He resigned from the post on 28 March 1990 but was reappointed two days later on 30 March 1990. Ascended to the presidency following Premadasa's assassination.
10 Ranil Wickremesinghe
රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ
ரணில் விக்ரமசிங்க
(born 1949)
Biyagama
7 May
1993
19 August
1994
United National Party Wijetunga 9th
 —
1 year, 3 months and 12 days
Appointed as prime minister following the assassination of former president Ranasinghe Premadasa and Wijetunga's ascension to the presidency.
11 Chandrika Kumaratunga
චන්ද්‍රිකා බණ්ඩාරනායක කුමාරතුංග
சந்திரிகா பண்டாரநாயக்கே குமாரதுங்கா
(born 1945)
Attanagalla
19 August
1994
12 November
1994
Sri Lanka Freedom Party
(People's Alliance)
Wijetunga 10th
1994
2 months and 24 days
Served as the prime minister for a short period, before contesting in the 1994 presidential elections and being elected as president.
(6) Sirimavo Bandaranaike
සිරිමාවො රත්වත්තේ ඩයස් බණ්ඩාරනායක
சிறிமா ரத்வத்தே டயஸ் பண்டாரநாயக்கே
(1916–2000)
National List
14 November
1994
9 August
2000
Sri Lanka Freedom Party
(People's Alliance)
Kumaratunga 10th
 —
5 years, 8 months and 26 days
Sirimavo Bandaranaike was appointed as the prime minister for a third and final term when her daughter Chandrika Kumaratunga was appointed as the president of Sri Lanka. Resigned in 2000.
12 Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
රත්නසිරි වික්‍රමනායක
ரத்னசிறி விக்கிரமநாயக்க
(1933–2016)
Horana
10 August
2000
7 December
2001
Sri Lanka Freedom Party
(People's Alliance)
Kumaratunga 10th
11th
2000
1 year, 3 months and 27 days
Wickremanayake assumed the office of prime minister following the resignation of Sirimavo Bandaranaike.
(10) Ranil Wickremesinghe
රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ
ரணில் விக்ரமசிங்க
(born 1949)
Colombo
9 December
2001
6 April
2004
United National Party
(United National Front)
Kumaratunga 12th
2001
2 years, 3 months and 28 days
Wickremesinghe's term of office ended early when President Chandrika Kumaratunga dismissed his government and called for a general election in 2004.
13 Mahinda Rajapaksa
මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ
மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ
(born 1945)
Hambantota
6 April
2004
19 November
2005
Ministry of Highways Sri Lanka Freedom Party
(United People's Freedom Alliance)
Kumaratunga 13th
2004
1 year, 7 months and 13 days
Appointed as prime minister of the cabinet that was formed after the elections following the dismissal of Wickremesinghe's government by President Chandrika Kumaratunga. He won the presidential elections in 2005 and was appointed President of Sri Lanka.
(12) Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
රත්නසිරි වික්‍රමනායක
ரத்னசிறி விக்கிரமநாயக்க
(1933–2016)
National List
19 November
2005
21 April
2010
Sri Lanka Freedom Party
(United People's Freedom Alliance)
Mahinda Rajapaksa 13th
 —
4 years, 5 months and 2 days
Appointed as prime minister when Rajapaksa assumed the presidency.
14 D. M. Jayaratne
දිසානායක මුදියන්සේලාගේ ජයරත්න
திசாநாயக்க முதியன்சேலாகே ஜயரத்ன
(1931–2019)
National List
21 April
2010
9 January
2015
Minister of Buddhasasana & Religious Affairs Sri Lanka Freedom Party
(United People's Freedom Alliance)
Mahinda Rajapaksa 14th
2010
4 years, 8 months and 19 days
Appointed as prime minister after the incumbent Sri Lanka Freedom Party won the parliamentary elections held in April 2010.
(10) Ranil Wickremesinghe
රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ
ரணில் விக்ரமசிங்க
(born 1949)
Colombo
9 January
2015
26 October
2018
Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs United National Party
(United National Front for Good Governance)
Sirisena I 14th
2015 Sirisena II 15th
3 years, 9 months and 17 days
Appointed as prime minister by President Maithripala Sirisena after his victory in the 2015 presidential elections and was re-elected in the 2015 parliamentary elections.
(13) Mahinda Rajapaksa
මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ
மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ
(born 1945)
Kurunegala (de facto)
26 October
2018
15 December
2018
Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Sirisena III 15th
1 month and 19 days
2018 Sri Lankan constitutional crisis: Appointed by Sirisena after the incumbent Wickremesinghe was suddenly dismissed by Sirisena. Rajapaksa's term was disputed by Wickremesinghe and Sri Lanka had two concurrent prime ministerial claimants. After failing to conduct a majority support vote in the house, Rajapaksa's duties were suspended by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. Subsequently resigned from office to pave way for Wickremesinghe.
(10) Ranil Wickremesinghe
රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ
ரணில் விக்ரமசிங்க
(born 1949)
Colombo
16 December
2018
21 November
2019
Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs United National Party
(United National Front for Good Governance)
Sirisena IV 15th
 —
11 months and 5 days
Restored as prime minister after the 2018 Sri Lankan constitutional crisis.
(13) Mahinda Rajapaksa
මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ
மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ
(born 1945)
Kurunegala
21 November
2019
9 May
2022
Minister of Finance
Minister of Urban Development & Housing
Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious & Cultural Affairs
Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna
Gotabaya Rajapaksa I 15th
2020 Gotabaya Rajapaksa II 16th
2 years, 5 months and 18 days Gotabaya Rajapaksa III
Appointed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, following the resignation of Ranil Wickremesinghe after the 2019 presidential election and was re-elected in the 2020 parliamentary elections. Much of his tenure was plagued with major economic and political crises. Resigned amidst the 2022 Sri Lankan protests.
(10) Ranil Wickremesinghe
රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ
ரணில் விக்ரமசிங்க
(born 1949)
National List
12 May
2022
21 July
2022
Minister of Finance United National Party Gotabaya Rajapaksa IV 16th
 —
2 months and 9 days
Appointed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, following the resignation of Mahinda Rajapaksa amidst the 2022 Sri Lankan political crisis. On 13 July 2022, he became the acting president of the republic as Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country and resigned amidst the protests and was outright elected as president a week later.
15 Dinesh Gunawardena
දිනේෂ් ගුණවර්ධන
தினேஷ் குணவர்தன
(born 1949)
Colombo
22 July
2022
Incumbent Minister of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Wickremesinghe 16th
 —
1 year, 7 months and 21 days
Appointed by President Ranil Wickremesinghe following his ascension to the presidency.

Timeline

Dinesh GunawardenaD. M. JayaratneMahinda RajapaksaRatnasiri WickremanayakeChandrika KumaratungaRanil WickremesingheDingiri Banda WijetungaRanasinghe PremadasaJunius Richard JayewardeneSirimavo BandaranaikeWijeyananda DahanayakeS. W. R. D. BandaranaikeSir John KotelawalaDudley SenanayakeDon Stephen Senanayake

See also


This page was last updated at 2024-03-17 08:54 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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