The Minister of Finance ( si, මුදල්, ආර්ථික ස්ථායිකරණ සහ ජාතික ප්‍රතිපත්ති අමාත්‍ය; ta, நிதி, பொருளாதார நிலைப்படுத்தல் மற்றும் தேசிய கொள்கைகள் அமைச்சர்) is an appointment in the

Cabinet of Sri Lanka In Sri Lanka, the Cabinet of Ministers is the council of ministers that form the central government of Sri Lanka. The body of senior ministers responsible and answerable to the Parliament of Sri Lanka. The President is a member of the cabinet ...

. The post was created in 1947 when Ceylon gained independence as Sri Lanka.

History

The position of

Treasurer of Ceylon The Financial Secretary of Ceylon was an officer of the Ceylonese Government and member of the Board of Ministers. The Treasurer of Ceylon was one of six offices that held a seat in the Executive Council of Ceylon from 1809 to 1932. The post wa ...

of the British Government of Ceylon dates back to the early nineteenth century and was succeeded by the post of

Financial Secretary of Ceylon The Financial Secretary of Ceylon was an officer of the Ceylonese Government and member of the Board of Ministers. The Treasurer of Ceylon was one of six offices that held a seat in the Executive Council of Ceylon from 1809 to 1932. The post wa ...

under the recommendations of the

Donoughmore Commission The Donoughmore Commission (DC) was responsible for the creation of the Donoughmore Constitution in effect between 1931–47 in Ceylon (now called Sri Lanka). In 1931 there were approximately 12% Ceylonese Tamils, 12% Indian Tamils (migrant an ...

. The post of ''Ministry of Finance and the Treasury of Ceylon'' was established in 1947 under the recommendations of the

Soulbury Commission The Soulbury Commission ( si, සෝල්බරි කොමිෂන් සභාව ''Solbari Komishan Sabhawa''; ta, சோல்பரி ஆணைக்குழு), announced in 1944 was, like its predecessor, the Donoughmore Commission, a ...

under the ''Ceylon Independence Act, 1947'' and ''The Ceylon (Constitution and Independence) Orders in Council 1947''. A young J.R Jayawardena, became the first Minister of Finance of independence Ceylon. Over time the Ministry took over the policy planning which it currently undertakes. Beginning 4 April 2022, Ali Sabry was appointed as the new minister, replacing Basil Rajapaksa (brother of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Gotabaya Rajapaksa Lieutenant Colonel Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa ( si, නන්දසේන ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ; ta, நந்தசேன கோட்டாபய ராஜபக்ஷ; born 20 June 1949) is a former Sri Lankan militar ...

) in the position; However, due to the worsening of the

financial crisis A financial crisis is any of a broad variety of situations in which some financial assets suddenly lose a large part of their nominal value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with banking panics, and man ...

, Sabry tendered his resignation 5 April 2022, having served only a day in office; However, Sabry later decided to continue serving in the capacity of finance minister. Prime Minister

Ranil Wickremesinghe Ranil Wickremesinghe ( si, රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ, ta, ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்க; born 24 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician who is the current president of Sri Lanka since 21 July 2 ...

was appointed finance minister by

. Upon assuming the Presidency himself, Wickremesinghe remained Finance Minister.

List of Finance Ministers

;Parties (10) (9) (1) (3)

List of Parliamentary secretaries

*Sir

Herbert Eric Jansz Sir Herbert Eric Jansz, (13 November 1890 - March 1976) was a Ceylonese civil servant. He was member of the Senate of Ceylon, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance (1948-1950) and Chairman, Public Service Commission. He was appoi ...

17.05.1948 10.09.1950 * Louis Lucien Hunter 20.09.1950 02.04.1952 * Louis Lucien Hunter 02.06.1952 29.04.1953 * M. D. H. Jayawardena 19.10.1953 01.07.1954 * U. B. Wanninayake 01.07.1954 27.04.1955 * Chandradasa Wijesinghe 25.04.1956 10.09.1958 * Nimal Karunatilake 18.11.1958 19.05.1959 * Meeralebbe Poddy Mohamed Mustapha 25.06.1959 22.11.1959 * Dayasena Pasqual 22.11.1959 05.12.1959 * George Rajapaksa 29.07.1960 20.06.1962 *

R. S. V. Poulier Reginald Sydney Vernon Poulier, (3 August 1894 - 7 November 1976) was a Ceylonese statesman and civil servant. He was educated at Royal College, Colombo and gained a BA from the University of London. In 1914, he joined the education department ...

28.08.1962 06.05.1963 *

Mudiyanse Tennakoon Mudiyanse Tennakoon (born 16 June 1934 - 11 December 1991) was a Ceylonese politician, colloquially known as Podi Putha (youngest son). He received his primary education at Maho Central School and his secondary education at S. Thomas' College, ...

30.05.1963 12.03.1964 *

James Peter Obeyesekere III Deshamanya James Peter Obeyesekere III (14 July 1915 – 23 October 2007) was a Sri Lankan politician and aviator. A Senator, he was also a Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and Finance.Noel Wimalasena Deshamanya Noel Wimalasena (23 March 1914 – 5 May 1994) was a Sri Lankan lawyer, politician and the first Governor of Sabaragamuwa. Early life and education Nanediri Wimalasena was born on 23 March 1914 in Kandy, Sri Lanka. He attended An ...

29.03.1965 25.03.1970

Deputy ministers

Neal de Alwis William Neal de Alwis (born 19 January 1914) was a Ceylonese politician and a senior member of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party. William Neal de Alwis was born on 19 January 1914, and he received his education at Newstead Girls' School, Negombo, ...

01.10.1975 04.02.1977 *

Festus Perera Michael Festus Wenceslaus Perera (1931 - 2013) was a Sri Lankan politician. He was first elected to parliament representing Wennappuwa at the 6th parliamentary election in 1965. He failed to get re-elected at the subsequent 1970 parliamentary el ...

23.07.1977 05.02.1978 * M. H. M. Naina Marikar 06.02.1978 19.01.1988 *J A E Amaratunga 19.01.1988 09.01.1989 *

Harold Herath Deshabandu James Edward Herath Herald known as Harold Herath (10 March 1930 – 31 August 2007) was a senior Sri Lankan politician and Cabinet Minister. Herath was most notably Minister of Foreign Affairs under President Ranasinghe Premadasa fro ...

18.02.1989 28.03.1999 *

30.03.1990 15.08.1994 *

Jeyaraj Fernandopulle Jeyaraj Fernandopulle ( si, ජෙයරාජ් ප්‍රනාන්දුපුල්ලේ, ta, ஜெயராஜ் பெர்னான்டோபுள்ளே, 11 January 1953 – 6 April 2008) was a Sri Lankan politician ...

01.09.1994 12.11.1994 *

G. L. Peiris Gamini Lakshman Peiris ( Sinhala: ගාමීණි ලක්ෂ්මණ් පීරිස්, Tamil: காமினி லக்ஷ்மன் பீரிஸ்) (born 13 August 1946) is a Sri Lankan politician and academic. He was the ...

24.11.1994 09.08.2000 *

16.08.2000 10.10.2000 *

25.11.2000 13.09.2001 * S. B. Dissanayake 25.11.2000 13.09.2001 *

Mangala Samaraweera Mangala Pinsiri Samaraweera (21 April 1956 – 24 August 2021; si, මංගල පින්සිරි සමරවීර, ta, மங்கள சமரவீர; ) was a Sri Lankan politician. He was the first openly gay politician from Sr ...

14.09.2001 07.12.2001 *

Bandula Gunawardane Sumithra Arachchige Don Bandula Chandrasiri Gunawardane (born 15 March 1953) is a Sri Lankan politician, teacher and film producer who is a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka for Colombo District, and a former government minister. Early lif ...

12.12.2001 07.02.2004 *

Ranjith Siyambalapitiya Basnayaka Ralalage Ranjith Siyambalapitiya (born 1 May 1961) (known as ''Ranjith Siyambalapitiya'') is a Sri Lankan politician. He is currently serving as Minister of State for Finance, serving with Shehan Semasinghe since 8 September 2022. He ...

14.04.2004 26.04.2010 *

Sarath Amunugama Sarath Amunugama, JP is a leading Sri Lankan academic, who is a professor of French and the founding Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Visual & Performing Arts, Colombo. He is a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya. Amun ...

17.01.2009 26.04.2010 * Chandrasiri Gajadeera 27.04.2010 21.11.2010 *

10.05.2010 21.11.2010 * Gitanjana Gunawardena 26.11.2010 - 2015 *

Ajith Nivard Cabraal Ajith Nivard Cabraal ( si, අජිත් නිවාඩ් කබ්රාල්) (born 14 December 1954) is a Sri Lankan accountant and politician who was also the 16th Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. He is also the former State ...

2020 - 2021

References

External links