Queen's House was a former

official residence An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of th ...

of the

President of Sri Lanka The president of Sri Lanka ( ''Śrī Laṅkā Janādhipati''; ''Ilaṇkai janātipati'') is the head of state and head of government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The president is the chief executive of the union governm ...

Jaffna Jaffna (, ; , ) is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a Jaffna Peninsula, peninsula of the same name. With a population o ...

. A former

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

's residence during the colonial period, it was used by the

Governor General of Ceylon The governor-general of Ceylon was the representative of the Ceylonese monarch in the Dominion of Ceylon from the country's independence in 1948 until it became the republic of Sri Lanka in 1972. History There were four governors-general. Sir ...

until Sri Lanka became a republic. It was used by Presidents

William Gopallawa William Gopallawa (, ; 17 September 1896 – 31 January 1981) was a Sri Lankan politician and statesman who served as the last Governor-General of Ceylon from 1962 to 1972 and the first and only non-executive President of Sri Lanka from 1972 to ...

and

J. R. Jayewardene Junius Richard Jayewardene (; ; 17 September 1906 – 1 November 1996), commonly referred to by his initials JR, was a Sri Lankan lawyer, public official and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 1977 to 1978 and as the secon ...

when visiting Jaffna. It was built in the 17th century as the residence of the commander of the colonial garrison of the fort. Situated within the

Jaffna fort Jaffna Fort (; ''Yapanaya Balakotuwa'') is a fort built by the Portuguese at Jaffna, Sri Lanka, in 1618 under Phillippe de Oliveira following the Portuguese invasion of Jaffna. The fort is located near the coastal village of Gurunagar. Owing ...

, it was damaged to a great extent during the course of the Sri Lankan Civil War and is currently under renovation.

External links

Conservation and Development of the Ancient Fort in Jaffna
British colonial architecture in Sri Lanka Country houses in Sri Lanka Former official residences in Sri Lanka Houses in Jaffna {{SriLanka-struct-stub

See also

External links