The chief secretary of Ceylon, was the chairman and one of three officers of state of the Board of Ministers of 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 ...

from 1932 to 1947. The post succeeded that of ''Colonial Secretary'' which was one of six offices that held a seat in the

Executive Council of Ceylon The Executive Council of Ceylon was the executive council created in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) by the British colonial administration on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission along with the Legislative Council of Ceylon in March 1 ...

until 1932. The established under in 1932 by the Order in Council, following the recommendations of the

Donoughmore Commission The Donoughmore Commission (DC) was responsible for the creation of the Donoughmore Constitution in effect between 1931 and 1947 in British Ceylon, Ceylon (now called Sri Lanka). In 1931 there were approximately 12% Sri Lankan Tamils, Ceylonese T ...

, vested the subjects of external affairs, defence and the public services of the Crown Colony of Ceylon under the chief secretary, who served as the

officer administering the government An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fr ...

in the abases of the

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 ...

. As such, the chief secretary was third in the order of precedence after the governor of Ceylon and the chief justice. The chief secretary was assisted by a deputy chief secretary and two assistant chief secretaries. Appointments were made from senior officers of the

Colonial Service The Colonial Service, also known as His/Her Majesty's Colonial Service and replaced in 1954 by Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS), was the British government service that administered most of Britain's overseas possessions, under the aut ...

. The post ceased to exist in 1947 with the formation of the

Dominion of Ceylon Ceylons:Sri Lanka Independence Act 1947, 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 ...

. the chief secretary's office was located in 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 was the ninth winn ...

and the

Temple Trees Temple Trees is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. It is located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Several recent presidents have used it as their official residence as well. History Private residence The history of ''Temple Tree ...

was the official residence of the chief secretary. The post was replaced by the post of

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

in 1947 under the recommendations of the

Soulbury Commission The Soulbury Commission ( ''Solbari Komisyan Sabawa''; ) was a prime instrument of constitutional reform in British Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka) that succeeded the Donoughmore Commission. It was announced in 1944 and headed by Herwald Ramsboth ...

under the Ceylon Independence Act, 1947 and The Ceylon (Constitution and Independence) Orders in Council 1947.

Departments

Departments under the chief secretary's office: * Secretariat *

Ceylon Civil Service The Ceylon Civil Service, popularly known by its acronym CCS, was the premier civil service of the Government of Ceylon under British colonial rule and in the immediate post-independence period. Established in 1833, it functioned as part of th ...

* Ceylon Clerical Service *

Ceylon Defence Force The Ceylon Defence Force (CDF) was established in 1910 by the Ceylonese legislation ''Ceylon Defence Force Ordinance'', which reformed the Ceylon Volunteer Force (CVF) that existed previously as the military reserve in the British Crown colony ...

* Ceylon Naval Volunteer Force * Coasts Lights * Censor's Department * Information Officer's Department

List of secretaries

Data based on: * John Ferguson, Ceylon in the "jubilee Year"., J. Haddon and Co.,1887 * Ceylon: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries and Resources, Plâté limited, 1924

References

* Defunct government positions in Sri Lanka {{SriLanka-hist-stub

Departments

List of secretaries

See also

References