The Prime Minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the head and most senior
member of parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
in the
cabinet of ministers. It is the second-most powerful position in Sri Lanka's
executive branch
The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state.
In political systems ...
behind the
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
, who is the constitutional
chief executive. The Cabinet is collectively held accountable to
parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
for their policies and actions.
Dinesh Gunawardena has been prime minister since 22 July, after
Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the President.
Appointment
The president will appoint a member of parliament as prime minister, who in the president's opinion, "is most likely to command the confidence of Parliament". The prime minister holds office throughout the period during which the cabinet of ministers continues to function under the provisions of the constitution unless the prime minister resigns from the post or ceases to be a member of parliament.
[The Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka](_blank)
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Powers and role
Under the Soulbury Constitution the post of Prime Minister was created in 1947 as the head of government
The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...
in the Westminster system. In 1978, under the second amendment to the Republican Constitution of 1972 much of the powers of the premiership were transferred to the executive presidency as head of government and head of the cabinet of ministers in addition to being the head of state. As a result, the prime minister became a senior member cabinet of ministers and successor to the president. The prime minister would serve as the deputy to the president if both are from the same political party. On certain occasions, when the president is not from the majority party in parliament or a national government is formed, the prime minister would be appointed from a party different from the president's. In such a situation the prime minister would serve as the de facto head of government. In 2015, the nineteenth amendment restored a certain degree of powers to the premiership.
The prime minister is the second in the order of precedence
An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance and can be applied to individuals, groups, or organizations. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments, for very formal and state o ...
after the president and head of the cabinet of ministers. The prime minister would be a member of the constitutional council, national security council
A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...
and the most senior member of the cabinet of ministers.
Head of the cabinet of ministers
As head of the cabinet of ministers, the prime minister has the power to:
* Determine the number of Cabinet ministers and ministries and assignment of subjects.
* Determine the number of non-cabinet ministers and ministries and assignment of subjects.
Principal adviser to the president
By the constitution, the prime minister holds formal power to advise
ADVISE (Analysis, Dissemination, Visualization, Insight, and Semantic Enhancement) is a research and development program within the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Threat and Vulnerability Testing and Assessment (TVTA) portfoli ...
the president on:
* Appoint, dismiss, or accept the resignation of cabinet and non-cabinet ministers.
* Change of subjects assigned to cabinet ministers.
Presidential succession
As per the constitution, if the office of president becomes vacant, the prime minister would "act in the office of President during the period between the occurrence of such vacancy and the assumption of office by the new president and shall appoint one of the other ministers of the Cabinet to act in the office of Prime Minister". In such a situation, if the office of Prime Minister is vacant or the prime minister is unable to act, the Speaker of the Parliament shall act in the office of President instead.
The president may appoint the prime minister to exercise, perform and discharge the powers, duties and functions of the office of President for a period during the president is unable to exercise, perform and discharge the powers, duties and functions of his office due to illness, absence from Sri Lanka or any other cause.
Privileges of office
Official residence and office
The official residence
An official residence is the House, residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, Clergy, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-relate ...
of the prime minister is the Prime Minister's House most commonly referred to as Temple Trees. The prime minister has the use of The Lodge as a vacationing residence in the holiday-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 ...
. The Prime Minister's Office is located in the Sirimathipaya on Sir Ernest de Silva Mawatha (formerly known as Flower Road) in Colombo.
In recent years, Temple Trees has been by some presidents such as Kumaratunga and Rajapaksa from time to time, while other prime ministers such as Wickremesinghe have chosen to stay at his personal residence.
Travel
For ground travel, the prime minister uses the prime ministerial car
British manufactured cars have always been used as prime ministerial cars by the prime ministers of the United Kingdom. The cars currently used are armoured, custom built Range Rover Sentinel supercharged 5.0 litre V8 models.
Prime ministeria ...
, which is an armored black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
Mercedes-Benz S-Class (S600) Pullman Guard. For domestic air travel, helicopters from the No. 4 (VVIP/VIP) Helicopter Squadron of the Sri Lanka Air Force
The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) ( si, ශ්රි ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාව, Śrī Laṃkā guwan hamudāva; ta, இலங்கை விமானப்படை, Ilaṅkai vimāṉappaṭai) is the air arm and the yo ...
are used while for long-distance travel, regular flights of the Sri Lankan Airlines are used.
Security
Traditionally security for the prime minister has been provided by the Sri Lanka Police
(The one who lives by the Dhamma is protected by the Dhamma itself)
, mission =
, formedyear =
, preceding1 = Ceylon Police Force (1866–1972)
, dissolved =
, superseding =
, employees = ...
. After the establishment of the office of Prime Minister in 1948, a sub inspector of the Ceylon Police Force had been assigned for personal protection of the prime minister, until S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike
Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike ( si, සොලොමන් වෙස්ට් රිජ්වේ ඩයස් බණ්ඩාරනායක; ta, சாலமன் வெஸ்ட் ரிட்ஜ்வே டயஸ் ப� ...
dismissed his personal protection officer. When Bandaranaike was assassinated, only a lone police constable stood guard at the entrance of his residence. Following the Bandaranaike assassination, the successive prime ministers received a police guard headed by a sub-inspector. This was supplemented by the Army's Field Security Detachment following the 1962 attempted coup d'état and during the 1971 JVP insurrection. At present the Prime Minister's Security Division is in charge of security of the prime minister.
Order of precedence
In the Sri Lankan order of precedence
The Order of Precedence in Sri Lanka the protocol list at which Sri Lankan government officials are seated according to their rank. This is not the list of succession.
Current Order of Precedence
# The President of Sri Lanka
# The Prime Mini ...
, the prime minister is placed after the president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
, but before the Speaker of the Parliament.
History
The post of Prime Minister of Ceylon was created in 1947 replacing the colonial post of Chief Secretary of Ceylon, as Ceylon gained self-rule with the formation of the Dominion of Ceylon under the recommendations of the Soulbury Commission under the ''Ceylon Independence Act, 1947'' and ''The Ceylon (Constitution and Independence) Orders in Council 1947''. The D. S. Senanayake, the leader of the newly formed United National Party
The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...
became the first Prime Minister. Carrying forward the scope of the former Chief Secretary, the Prime Minister retained the portfolios of External Affairs and Defence as the Minister of External Affairs and Defence.
In 1972 when Sri Lanka became a republic the name of the post changed to Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. With a Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
-based political system established the prime minister was the head of government and therefore held the most powerful political office of the country at the time. This changed with a constitutional change in 1978, when the executive presidency was created, making the president both head of state
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...
and head of government
The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...
. Until 1978, the prime minister was also the minister of defence and external affairs. The prime minister is appointed by the president as a member of the cabinet of ministers. In the event that the office of the president is vacant, the prime minister becomes the acting president until Parliament convenes to elect a successor or new elections would be held to elect a new president. This was the case with H.E. President Dingiri Banda Wijetunge. UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has served as prime minister on six occasions, while former UNP leader Dudley Senanayake and former Sri Lanka Freedom Party
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party ( si, ශ්රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂය, translit=Śrī Laṁkā Nidahas Pakṣaya; ta, இலங்கை சுதந்திரக் கட்சி, translit=Ilaṅkai Cutantirak Ka� ...
leader Sirimavo Bandaranaike
Sirima Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike ( si, සිරිමා රත්වත්තේ ඩයස් බණ්ඩාරනායක; ta, சிறிமா ரத்வத்தே டயஸ் பண்டாரநாயக்கே; 17 April 191 ...
were each appointed respectively four and three times to the position. With the passing of the 19th amendment to the constitution in 2015, the prime minister was granted more powers when appointing ministers and leading the cabinet.
Major events
2018 Sri Lankan constitutional crisis
On 26 October 2018, former president Mahinda Rajapaksa
Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...
was appointed by Maithripala Sirisena as the prime minister dismissing incumbent prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Wickremasinghe refused to accept the dismissal stating that it was unconstitutional, resulting in a constitutional crisis
In political science, a constitutional crisis is a problem or conflict in the function of a government that the political constitution or other fundamental governing law is perceived to be unable to resolve. There are several variations to this ...
.
On 3 December 2018, a court issued an interim order preventing Mahinda Rajapaksha from functioning in the position. On 16 December 2018, Ranil Wickramasinghe was re-appointed as Prime Minister ending the crisis.
2022 Sri Lankan economic and political crisis
In March 2022, Sri Lankans began protests in retaliation to the economic mismanagement of Sri Lanka, which led to the island nation's worst economic crisis since independence. The protesters blamed the Rajapaksa family who have been dominating Sri Lankan politics for decades for the economic instability of Sri Lanka. On 9 May 2022, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa
Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...
, submitted his letter of resignation amidst the anti-government protests.
On 12 May 2022, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Lieutenant Colonel Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa ( si, නන්දසේන ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ; ta, நந்தசேன கோட்டாபய ராஜபக்ஷ; born 20 June 1949) is a former Sri Lankan military ...
appointed veteran politician Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.
On 9 July 2022, protestors stormed the Presidential secretariat, Presidential house and set fire to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...
. This led President Gotabya Rajapaksa to resign and Prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed acting president. On 20 July, Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed President of Sri Lanka
The President of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්රී ලංකා ජනාධිපති ''Śrī Laṃkā Janādhipathi''; ta, இலங்கை சனாதிபதி ''Ilankai janātipati'') is the head of state and head of government of t ...
by members of parliament. On 22 July, Wickremesinghe appointed Dinesh Gunawardena as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.
See also
* List of prime ministers of Sri Lanka
References
Notes
Citations
External links
Sri Lankan Prime Minister's Office
*''Parliament of Sri Lanka - Handbook of Parliament''
Prime Ministers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prime Minister Of Sri Lanka
Government of Sri Lanka
1947 establishments in Ceylon