The Republic Building is the building that houses the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

in southern wing and the

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister and Cabinet ...

in its northern wing. It is located in Colombo Fort 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 British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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 represe ...

, 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, parliament of Dominion of Ceylon, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1947 by the Soulbury Commission. The Senate was appointed and indirectly elected rather than directly elected. It ...

, the Prime Minister's Office, the

Cabinet office The Cabinet Office is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister and Cabinet ...

and the Ministry of External Affairs and Defence. It was renamed the Republic Building in 1972 when Sri Lanka became a republic. Since 1977, it was used by the

after the Ministry of External Affairs and Defence was split and the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

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.

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

Building

Republic Square

See also

External links