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The Prime Minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the head and most senior
member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
in the
cabinet of ministers A cabinet is a body of high-ranking state officials, typically consisting of the executive branch's top leaders. Members of a cabinet are usually called cabinet ministers or secretaries. The function of a cabinet varies: in some countries ...
. It is the second-most powerful position in Sri Lanka's
executive branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a State (polity), state. In poli ...
behind the
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 ...
, who is the constitutional
chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
. The Cabinet is collectively held accountable to
parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
for their policies and actions.
Dinesh Gunawardena Dinesh Chandra Rupasinghe Gunawardena ( si, දිනේෂ් චන්ද්‍ර රූපසිංහ ගුණවර්ධන, ta, தினேஷ் சந்திர ரூபசிங்க குணவர்தன; born 2 March 1949) ...
has been prime minister since 22 July, after
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 sworn in as the President.


Appointment

The president will appoint a member of parliament as prime minister, who in the president's opinion, "is most likely to command the confidence of Parliament". The prime minister holds office throughout the period during which the cabinet of ministers continues to function under the provisions of the constitution unless the prime minister resigns from the post or ceases to be a member of parliament.The Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
/ref>


Powers and role

Under the
Soulbury Constitution The Soulbury Commission ( si, සෝල්බරි කොමිෂන් සභාව ''Solbari Komishan Sabhawa''; ta, சோல்பரி ஆணைக்குழு), announced in 1944 was, like its predecessor, the Donoughmore Commission, a ...
the post of Prime Minister was created in 1947 as the
head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...
in the Westminster system. In 1978, under the second amendment to the Republican Constitution of 1972 much of the powers of the premiership were transferred to the executive presidency as head of government and head of the cabinet of ministers in addition to being the head of state. As a result, the prime minister became a senior member cabinet of ministers and successor to the president. The prime minister would serve as the deputy to the president if both are from the same political party. On certain occasions, when the president is not from the majority party in parliament or a national government is formed, the prime minister would be appointed from a party different from the president's. In such a situation the prime minister would serve as the de facto head of government. In 2015, the nineteenth amendment restored a certain degree of powers to the premiership. The prime minister is the second in the
order of precedence An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance and can be applied to individuals, groups, or organizations. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments, for very formal and state o ...
after the president and head of the cabinet of ministers. The prime minister would be a member of the
constitutional council Constitutional Council might refer to: * Constitutional Council (Chad) * Constitutional Council (France) * Constitutional Council (Ivory Coast) * Constitutional Council (Sri Lanka) * Constitutional Council (Cambodia) * Constitutional Council (Kaz ...
,
national security council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...
and the most senior member of the cabinet of ministers.


Head of the cabinet of ministers

As head of the cabinet of ministers, the prime minister has the power to: * Determine the number of Cabinet ministers and ministries and assignment of subjects. * Determine the number of non-cabinet ministers and ministries and assignment of subjects.


Principal adviser to the president

By the constitution, the prime minister holds formal power to advise the president on: * Appoint, dismiss, or accept the resignation of cabinet and non-cabinet ministers. * Change of subjects assigned to cabinet ministers.


Presidential succession

As per the constitution, if the office of president becomes vacant, the prime minister would "act in the office of President during the period between the occurrence of such vacancy and the assumption of office by the new president and shall appoint one of the other ministers of the Cabinet to act in the office of Prime Minister". In such a situation, if the office of Prime Minister is vacant or the prime minister is unable to act, the Speaker of the Parliament shall act in the office of President instead. The president may appoint the prime minister to exercise, perform and discharge the powers, duties and functions of the office of President for a period during the president is unable to exercise, perform and discharge the powers, duties and functions of his office due to illness, absence from Sri Lanka or any other cause.


Privileges of office


Official residence and office

The
official residence An official residence is the House, residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, Clergy, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-relate ...
of the prime minister is the Prime Minister's House most commonly referred to as Temple Trees. The prime minister has the use of The Lodge as a vacationing residence in the holiday-town of
Nuwara Eliya Nuwara Eliya ( si, නුවර එළිය ; ta, நுவரெலியா) is a city in the hill country of the Central Province, Sri Lanka. Its name means "city on the plain (table land)" or "city of light". The city is the administrativ ...
. The Prime Minister's Office is located in the Sirimathipaya on
Sir Ernest de Silva Sir Albert Ernest de Silva (26 November 1887 – 9 May 1957) was a Ceylonese business magnate, banker, barrister and public figure, considered to be the most prominent Ceylonese philanthropist of the 20th century. A wealthy and influential polym ...
Mawatha (formerly known as Flower Road) in Colombo. In recent years,
Temple Trees Temple Trees is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. It is located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Several recent Presidents have used it as their official residence as well. History Private residence The history of ''Temple Trees ...
has been by some presidents such as Kumaratunga and Rajapaksa from time to time, while other prime ministers such as Wickremesinghe have chosen to stay at his personal residence.


Travel

For ground travel, the prime minister uses the
prime ministerial car British manufactured cars have always been used as prime ministerial cars by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, prime ministers of the United Kingdom. The cars currently used are armoured, custom bui ...
, which is an armored
black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
Mercedes-Benz S-Class The Mercedes-Benz S-Class, formerly known as ''Sonderklasse'' (German for "special class", abbreviated as "S-Klasse"), is a series of full-sized luxury vehicle, luxury sedans, limousines and Armored car (VIP), armored sedans produced by the Germa ...
(S600) Pullman Guard. For domestic air travel, helicopters from the No. 4 (VVIP/VIP) Helicopter Squadron of the
Sri Lanka Air Force The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) ( si, ශ්‍රි ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාව, Śrī Laṃkā guwan hamudāva; ta, இலங்கை விமானப்படை, Ilaṅkai vimāṉappaṭai) is the air arm and the yo ...
are used while for long-distance travel, regular flights of the
Sri Lankan Airlines SriLankan Airlines (formerly known as Air Lanka) is the flag carrier of Sri Lanka and a member airline of the Oneworld airline alliance. It is currently the largest airline in Sri Lanka by number of aircraft and destinations and was launched ...
are used.


Security

Traditionally security for the prime minister has been provided by the
Sri Lanka Police (The one who lives by the Dhamma is protected by the Dhamma itself) , mission = , formedyear = , preceding1 = Ceylon Police Force (1866–1972) , dissolved = , superseding = , employees = ...
. After the establishment of the office of Prime Minister in 1948, a sub inspector of the Ceylon Police Force had been assigned for personal protection of the prime minister, until
S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike ( si, සොලොමන් වෙස්ට් රිජ්වේ ඩයස් බණ්ඩාරනායක; ta, சாலமன் வெஸ்ட் ரிட்ஜ்வே டயஸ் ப ...
dismissed his personal protection officer. When Bandaranaike was assassinated, only a lone police constable stood guard at the entrance of his residence. Following the Bandaranaike assassination, the successive prime ministers received a police guard headed by a sub-inspector. This was supplemented by the Army's Field Security Detachment following the 1962 attempted coup d'état and during the 1971 JVP insurrection. At present the
Prime Minister's Security Division Prime Minister's Security Division (PMSD) is a unit of the Sri Lanka Police charged with the close protection of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. It is headed by a gazetted officer of the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG). The unit c ...
is in charge of security of the prime minister.


Order of precedence

In the Sri Lankan order of precedence, the prime minister is placed after the
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 ...
, but before the Speaker of the Parliament.


History

The post of Prime Minister of Ceylon was created in 1947 replacing the colonial post of
Chief Secretary of Ceylon The Chief Secretary of Ceylon, was the Chairman and one of three officers of state of the Board of Ministers of the State Council of Ceylon from 1932 to 1947. The post succeeded that of ''Colonial Secretary'' which was one of six offices that he ...
, as Ceylon gained self-rule with the formation of the
Dominion of Ceylon Between 1948 and 1972, Ceylon The Sri Lanka Independence Act 1947 uses the name "Ceylon" for the new dominion; nowhere does that Act use the term "Dominion of Ceylon", which although sometimes used was not the official name. was an independent ...
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''. The
D. S. Senanayake Don Stephen Senanayake ( si, දොන් ස්ටීවන් සේනානායක,; ta, டி. எஸ். சேனநாயக்கா; 21 October 1884 – 22 March 1952) was a Ceylonese statesman. He was the first Prime Mi ...
, the leader of the newly formed
United National Party The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...
became the first Prime Minister. Carrying forward the scope of the former Chief Secretary, the Prime Minister retained the portfolios of External Affairs and Defence as the Minister of External Affairs and Defence. In 1972 when Sri Lanka became a republic the name of the post changed to Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. With a
Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
-based political system established the prime minister was the head of government and therefore held the most powerful political office of the country at the time. This changed with a constitutional change in 1978, when the executive presidency was created, making the president both
head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
and
head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...
. Until 1978, the prime minister was also the minister of defence and external affairs. The prime minister is appointed by the president as a member of the cabinet of ministers. In the event that the office of the president is vacant, the prime minister becomes the acting president until Parliament convenes to elect a successor or new elections would be held to elect a new president. This was the case with H.E. President Dingiri Banda Wijetunge. UNP leader
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 ...
has served as prime minister on six occasions, while former UNP leader
Dudley Senanayake Dudley Shelton Senanayake ( Sinhala: ඩඩ්ලි ශෙල්ටන් සේනානායක: ta, டட்லி சேனநாயக்கா; 19 June 1911 – 13 April 1973), was a Sri Lankan statesman who served as Prime Mi ...
and former
Sri Lanka Freedom Party The Sri Lanka Freedom Party ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂය, translit=Śrī Laṁkā Nidahas Pakṣaya; ta, இலங்கை சுதந்திரக் கட்சி, translit=Ilaṅkai Cutantirak Ka ...
leader
Sirimavo Bandaranaike Sirima Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike ( si, සිරිමා රත්වත්තේ ඩයස් බණ්ඩාරනායක; ta, சிறிமா ரத்வத்தே டயஸ் பண்டாரநாயக்கே; 17 April 191 ...
were each appointed respectively four and three times to the position. With the passing of the 19th amendment to the constitution in 2015, the prime minister was granted more powers when appointing ministers and leading the cabinet.


Major events


2018 Sri Lankan constitutional crisis

On 26 October 2018, former president
Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...
was appointed by
Maithripala Sirisena Maithripala Yapa Sirisena ( si, පල්ලෙවත්‍ත ගමරාළලාගේ මෛත්‍රීපාල යාපා සිරිසේන; ta, பல்லேவத்த கமராளலாகே மைத்திரி ...
as the prime minister dismissing incumbent 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 ...
. Wickremasinghe refused to accept the dismissal stating that it was unconstitutional, resulting in a
constitutional crisis In political science, a constitutional crisis is a problem or conflict in the function of a government that the political constitution or other fundamental governing law is perceived to be unable to resolve. There are several variations to this d ...
. On 3 December 2018, a court issued an interim order preventing Mahinda Rajapaksha from functioning in the position. On 16 December 2018,
Ranil Wickramasinghe 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 re-appointed as Prime Minister ending the crisis.


2022 Sri Lankan economic and political crisis

In March 2022, Sri Lankans began protests in retaliation to the economic mismanagement of Sri Lanka, which led to the island nation's worst
economic crisis An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the p ...
since independence. The protesters blamed the
Rajapaksa family The Rajapaksa family ( si, රාජපක්ෂ, translit=Rājapakṣa) is a Sri Lankan family that is prominent in politics. It was one of Sri Lanka's most powerful families during Mahinda Rajapaksa's presidency, when many members of the fami ...
who have been dominating Sri Lankan politics for decades for the economic instability of Sri Lanka. On 9 May 2022, Prime Minister
Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...
, submitted his letter of resignation amidst the anti-government protests. On 12 May 2022, President
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 ...
appointed veteran politician
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 ...
as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. On 9 July 2022, protestors stormed the Presidential secretariat, Presidential house and set fire to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe
house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
. This led President Gotabya Rajapaksa to resign and 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
acting president An acting president is a person who temporarily fills the role of a country's president when the incumbent president is unavailable (such as by illness or a vacation) or when the post is vacant (such as for death, injury, resignation, dismissal ...
. On 20 July, Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed
President of Sri Lanka The President of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජනාධිපති ''Śrī Laṃkā Janādhipathi''; ta, இலங்கை சனாதிபதி ''Ilankai janātipati'') is the head of state and head of government of t ...
by members of parliament. On 22 July, Wickremesinghe appointed
Dinesh Gunawardena Dinesh Chandra Rupasinghe Gunawardena ( si, දිනේෂ් චන්ද්‍ර රූපසිංහ ගුණවර්ධන, ta, தினேஷ் சந்திர ரூபசிங்க குணவர்தன; born 2 March 1949) ...
as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.


See also

*
List of prime ministers of Sri Lanka There have been fifteen prime ministers of Sri Lanka since the creation of the position in 1947, prior to the independence of Ceylon. The prime minister of Ceylon was the head of the government until 1972. In 1972, the country was renamed as the ...


References


Notes


Citations


External links


Sri Lankan Prime Minister's Office
*''Parliament of Sri Lanka - Handbook of Parliament''
Prime Ministers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prime Minister Of Sri Lanka Government of Sri Lanka 1947 establishments in Ceylon