The Old Parliament Building, is the building that houses the Presidential Secretariat of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. Situated in the

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 ...

area facing the sea, it is in close proximity to the

President's House, Colombo President's House is the official residence and workplace of the President of Sri Lanka, located at Janadhipathi Mawatha, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Since 1804 it had been the residence of British Governors and Governors-General and was known as the ...

and adjacent to the

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 ...

. The building housed the island's legislature for 53 years until the new parliamentary complex was opened at Sri Jayawardenepura in 1983.

Building

The Neo-Baroque-style 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 represen ...

, and was an idea of Sir

Henry McCallum Sir Henry Edward McCallum, GCMG (28 October 1852 – 24 November 1919) was a British colonial governor. Biography McCallum attended the Royal Military College in Woolwich and began his colonial service career in 1874. He was Colonial Eng ...

. This was subsequently included in a proposal made by a committee to construct the new building for the

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who is the ninth winne ...

, Council Chamber and Government offices on reclaimed land at the northern end of Galle Face, which was approved by the Government in 1920. Austin Woodeson, chief architect of the Public Works Department of Ceylon, was tasked with the building's design; his initial estimate of 400,000 rupees for the scheme was later revised by the Public Works Advisory Board to 450,000. The building was opened on 29 January 1930 by Governor Sir

Herbert Stanley Sir Herbert James Stanley, (25 July 1872 – 5 June 1955) was a leading British colonial administrator, who served at different times as Governor of Northern Rhodesia, Ceylon and Southern Rhodesia. Life and career Born in England, Stanley w ...

; a year later it was taken over by the

State Council of Ceylon The State Council of Ceylon was the unicameral legislature for Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), established in 1931 by the Donoughmore Constitution. The State Council gave universal adult franchise to the people of the colony for the first time. It rep ...

for its use, who were tenants of the building until 1947, when the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

was formed with the onset of self-rule. Following the adoption of a republican constitution in 1972, the

National State Assembly The National State Assembly (NSA) was the legislative body of Sri Lanka established in May 1972 under the First Republican Constitution. The assembly was introduced by Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike under the United Front Government replac ...

convened in the building until 1977, when it was renamed the

Parliament of Sri Lanka The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා පාර්ලිමේන්තුව ''Shri Lanka Parlimenthuwa'', Tamil: இலங்கை நாடாளுமன்றம் ''Ila� ...

. Parliament then moved out to a purpose-built complex in

Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, commonly known as Kotte (), is the legislative capital of Sri Lanka. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is a satellite city and located within the urban area of Sri Lanka's de facto economic, executive, and judicial capital, ...

in 1983; the building then became home to the Presidential Secretariat, housing the Office of the President. The building and the former ''Council Chamber'' (formally known as the ''Parliament Chamber'') is a venue for many state events, often the

letters of credence A letter of credence (french: Lettre de créance) is a formal diplomatic letter that designates a diplomat as ambassador to another sovereign state. Commonly known as diplomatic credentials, the letter is addressed from one head of state to anot ...

of incoming ambassadors and high commissioners are accepted by the President here. The British Coat of Arms adorned the top of the building face until 1948, when it was replaced by the arms of the Dominion of Ceylon and was once again replaced in 1972 with the arms of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

Statues

The front garden of the Old Parliament Building is host to several bronze statues of eminent statesmen, that include: *

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 ...

– First

Prime Minister of Ceylon The Prime Minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the head and most senior member of parliament in the cabinet of ministers. It is the second-most powerful position in Sri Lanka's executive branch behind the president, w ...

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 Min ...

– Second Prime Minister of Ceylon *

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED On ...

Sir John Kotalawela – Third Prime Minister of Ceylon *Sir

Ponnambalam Ramanathan Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan, CMG, KC ( ta, பொன்னம்பலம் இராமநாதன், translit=Poṉṉampalam Irāmanātaṉ; 16 April 1851 – 26 November 1930) was a Ceylon Tamil lawyer, politician and Solicitor-General o ...

–

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

and first native elected member of a Legislative Council in the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

References

External links

The Presidential Secretariat

The Parliament of Sri Lanka
{{Colombo fort, state=collapsed British colonial architecture in Sri Lanka Former seats of national legislatures Government buildings completed in 1930 Government buildings in Colombo Legislative buildings in Sri Lanka Parliament of Sri Lanka