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The Governor-General of Ceylon was the representative of the Ceylonese monarch in 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 ...
from the country's independence in 1948 until it became the republic of Sri Lanka in 1972.


History

There were four governors-general. Sir Henry Monck-Mason Moore became the last
Governor of Ceylon {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019 The Governor of Ceylon can refer to historical vice-regal representatives of three colonialism, colonial powers: Portuguese Ceylon * List of Captains of Portuguese Ceylon (1518–1551) * List of Captain-majors of ...
and first governor-general when the ''Ceylon Order in Council'', the first constitution of independent Ceylon came into effect. He was followed by Lord Soulbury, thereafter by
Oliver Goonetilleke Sir Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke ( si, ශ්‍රිමත් ඔලිවර් ගුණතිලක) (20 October 1892 – 17 December 1978) was a Sri Lankan statesman. Having served as an important figure in the gradual independence of Cey ...
the first Ceylonese to be appointed to the post. When
William Gopallawa William Gopallawa (, ; 17 September 1896 – 31 January 1981) was the last Governor-General of Ceylon from 1962 to 1972 and became the first and only non-executive and ceremonial President of Sri Lanka when Ceylon declared itself a republic in ...
was appointed as Governor-General in 1962, he discarded the ceremonial uniform of office. When Ceylon became a republic in 1972 the post was replaced by the office of President of Sri Lanka.


Functions

The monarch, on the advice of the Prime Minister, appointed a governor-general to be his/her representative in Ceylon. Neither the monarch nor the Governor-General had any direct role in the day-today administration of the country (however, both possessed reserve powers under the constitution which would allow them full control of the nation's governance whenever in their opinion a case of emergency requiring such action arises). Real legislative and executive responsibilities rested with the elected representatives of the people. During several periods when a state of emergency was declared the Governor-General used his reserved powers. In the absence of the governor-general, the
Chief Justice of Ceylon The Chief Justice of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the head of the judiciary of Sri Lanka and the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. Established in 1801, the Chief Justice is one of ten Supreme Court justices; the other nine are t ...
became acting Governor-General. The Governor-General's powers and functions was informally divided into three areas: powers exercised on the advice of the prime minister, discretionary powers exercised on own ceremonial and social.


Powers exercised on the advice of the prime minister

The governor-general was required to assent all bills passed in parliament to become an Act, by convention all bills received assent. In addition, the constitution and other legislation granted the governor-general powers to be carried out on advice of the prime minister, these included; * Appointment of public inquires * Command of the armed forces * Ability to declare a state of emergency under the Public Security Ordinance. * Summoning of parliament * Marking appointments; ** Members of the Senate of Ceylon ** Six appointed members of the
House of Representatives of Ceylon The House of Representatives was the lower chamber of the parliament of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1947 by the Soulbury Constitution. The House was housed in the old State Council building in Galle Face Green, Colombo and met for the ...
** Members of the Public Service Commission (Ceylon) ** Members of the Judaical Service Commission (Ceylon) ** Judges of the
Supreme Court of Ceylon The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණය, Sri Lanka Sreshthadikaranaya; ta, இலங்கை உயர் நீதிமன்றம், Ilankai uyar neetimanram) is th ...
** Ministers of Cabinet ** Parliamentary Sectaries ** Sectary to the Cabinet ** Permanent Sectaries **
Auditor General of Ceylon The Auditor General of Sri Lanka ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා විගණකාධිපති ''Śrī Laṃkā viganakādhipathi''; Tamil: இலங்கை கணக்காய்வாளர் தலைமை) is appointed by th ...
**
Attorney General of Ceylon The Attorney General of Sri Lanka is the Sri Lankan government's chief legal adviser, and its primary lawyer in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. The Attorney General is usually a highly respected Senior Advocate, and is appointed by the ruling gov ...
** Commissioner of Elections


Discretionary powers

The governor-general had the discretionary powers to appoint the prime minister, dissolve parliament and dismissal of a government that refuses to resign. The governor-general administers the oath of office of ministers and parliamentary sectaries. It is to the governor-general they would tender their resignations too.


Constitutional role

The governor-general represented the monarch on ceremonial occasions such as the opening of Parliament, the presentation of honours and military parades. Under the Constitution, he was given authority to act in some matters, for example in appointing and disciplining officers of the civil service, in proroguing Parliament and so on, but only in a few cases was he empowered to act entirely on his own discretion.


Governor-General's Staff

The Governor-General had a permanent staff that was based at the
Queen's House Queen's House is a former royal residence built between 1616 and 1635 near Greenwich Palace, a few miles down-river from the City of London and now in the London Borough of Greenwich. It presently forms a central focus of what is now the Old Ro ...
to assist in execution of his duties. *
Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...
to the Governor-General *
Private Secretary A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family. The role exists in ...
to the Governor-General * Aide-de-camp to the Governor-General *
Maha Mudaliyar The Maha Mudaliyar ( ''Head Mudaliyar'' or මහ මුදලි) was a colonial title and office in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Head Mudaliyar functioned as the head of the low country native headmen and native aide-de-camp to the Governor of Ceyl ...
(Head Mudaliyar) * Office Assistant, Governor-General's office The Governor-General several Extra Aides-de-camp to serve on a permanent or ad hoc basis. The Governor-General also maintained a ceremonial Lascarin Guard.


Residence

The official residence and office of the governor-general was the
Queen's House Queen's House is a former royal residence built between 1616 and 1635 near Greenwich Palace, a few miles down-river from the City of London and now in the London Borough of Greenwich. It presently forms a central focus of what is now the Old Ro ...
(currently the President's House) in
Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...
. Other Governor-General residences include: * the Queen's Pavilion, in
Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...
, was the residences used for (rare) state functions; * the
Queen's Cottage Queen's Cottage (also known as the ''President's House'' or ''The Lodge'') is a country house near Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka. It is the vacationing and country residence of the President of Sri Lanka. Located within the limits of the Nuwara Eliya ...
was the vacationing residence in the 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 ...
.


List of Governors-General of Ceylon

Following is a list of people who have served as Governor-General of Ceylon.


Flag of the governor-general


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Governor-General Of Ceylon Ceylon, List of Governors-General of
Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...
Monarchy in Ceylon