The Republic Building is the building that houses the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The enti ...
in southern wing and the
Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government object ...
in its northern wing. It is located in
Colombo Fort
Fort (Colombo) (; ) is the central business district of Colombo in Sri Lanka. It is the financial district of Colombo and the location of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and the World Trade Centre of Colombo from which the CSE operates. It is ...
in close proximity to the
President's House, and it was known as the Senate Building until 1972.
Building
The building was built during the
British colonial era to house the
Legislative Council of Ceylon
The Legislative Council of Ceylon was the legislative body of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1833, along with the Executive Council of Ceylon, on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission. It was the first form of repre ...
, which was located there until January 29, 1930, when a new building, now called the
Old Parliament Building, was built to house the Legislative Council. From then until Ceylon's Independence in 1948, the Republic Building housed several government departments. Following independence, the building hosted the
Senate of Ceylon
The Senate was the upper chamber of the parliament of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1947 by the Soulbury Commission. The Senate was appointed and indirectly elected rather than directly elected. It was housed in the old Legislative Coun ...
, the
Prime Minister's Office, the
Cabinet office
The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government object ...
and the
Ministry of External Affairs and Defence. It was renamed the Republic Building in 1972 when Sri Lanka became a republic.
From 1977, it was used by the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The enti ...
after the
Ministry of External Affairs and Defence was split and the
Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...
moved to
Echelon square.
Republic Square
The Republic Building is situated along what was once Queen's Street facing the
Gordon Gardens across the road. At the northern end of the building, Queen's Street met Church Street. The section of the road between the Church Street juncture and the Sir Baron Jayathilaka Mawatha Street juncture has been closed off and has since been known as Republic Square. The square is off-limits to the public for security reasons.
See also
*
General Treasury Building
The General Treasury Building (also known as the ''Treasury'' or the ''Treasury Building'') is the building that houses the Treasury of Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies along with several of its d ...
External links
Ministry of Foreign AffairsCabinet Office
{{Colombo fort, state=collapsed
Legislative buildings in Sri Lanka
Government buildings in Colombo
Seats of national legislatures
Parliament of Sri Lanka
British colonial architecture in Sri Lanka