The President of Sri Lanka is the head of state, chief executive, and de jure head of government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The president is the chief executive of the union government and the commander-in-chief of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. The President of Sri Lanka is locally known in Sinhala as ශ්රී ලංකා ජනාධිපති (Śrī Laṃkā Janādhipathi) and in Tamil as இலங்கை சனாதிபதி (Ilankai janātipati). The office was created in 1972 as a ceremonial head of state. Until 1972, Ceylon was a Commonwealth realm with Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state and Queen of Ceylon. It became an executive post in 1978, and since then has been the single most dominant political office in the country.
There were nine Presidents of Sri Lanka acted as head of state and eight of them were executive Presidents of Sri Lanka.
Here are details of presidents in nutshell as given below as timeline. The summery details state about lifespan, time in office, political party and notable notes.
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William Gopallawa
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විලියම් ගොපල්ලව
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வில்லியம் கோப்பல்லாவ
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Time in office
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22 May 1972 - 4 February 1978
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Office duration
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5 years, 8 months, 13 days
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Lifespan
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1896–1981
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Political party
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Independent
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Note
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The last Governor-General of Ceylon and the first (non-executive) President of Sri Lanka.
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Junius Richard Jayewardene
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ජුනියස් රිචඩ් ජයවර්ධන
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ஜூனியஸ் ரிச்சட் ஜயவர்தனா
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Time in office
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4 February 1978 - 2 January 1989
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Office duration
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10 years, 11 months, 29 days
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Lifespan
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1906–1996
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Political party
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United National Party
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Note
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Introduced the Executive Presidency to Sri Lanka, and the first executive President of Sri Lanka.
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Ranasinghe Premadasa
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රණසිංහ ප්රේමදාස
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ரணசிங்க பிரேமதாசா
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Time in office
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2 January 1989 - 1 May 1993†
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Office duration
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4 years and 4 months
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Lifespan
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1924–1993
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Political party
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United National Party
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Note
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The first President of Sri Lanka who was assassinated during his presidency.
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Dingiri Banda Wijetunga
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ඩිංගිරි බණ්ඩා විජේතුංග
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டிங்கிரி பண்ட விஜேதுங்க
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Time in office
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1 May 1993 - 12 November 1994
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Office duration
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1 year, 6 months, 10 days
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Lifespan
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1916–2008
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Political party
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United National Party
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Note
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Appointed as acting president when President Ranasinghe Premadasa was assassinated and he was elected by Parliament to the office of president under Article 40 of the Constitution.
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Chandrika Kumaratunga
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චන්ද්රිකා කුමාරතුංග
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சந்திரிகா பண்டாரநாயக்கே குமாரதுங்கா
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Time in office
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12 November 1994 - 19 November 2005
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Office duration
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11 years and 7 days
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Lifespan
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1945 -
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Political party
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Sri Lanka Freedom Party
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Note
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The first non UNP president of the country and first female president of the Sri Lanka. Victim of multiple assassination attempts by LTTE, which were all unsuccessful, except injury.
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Mahinda Rajapaksa
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මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ
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மகிந்த ராசபக்ச
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Time in office
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19 November 2005 - 9 January 2015
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Office duration
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9 years, 1 month, 21 days
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Lifespan
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1945 -
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Political party
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Sri Lanka Freedom Party
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Note
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Ended the 25-year long Sri Lankan Civil War in the country, and alleged war crimes during the final stages of the war. Defeated in the 2015 presidential election.
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Maithripala Sirisena
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මෛත්රීපාල සිරිසේන
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மைத்திரிபால சிறிசேன
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Time in office
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19 November 2005 - 9 January 2015
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Office duration
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4 years, 10 months, 9 days
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Lifespan
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1951 -
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Political party
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Sri Lanka Freedom Party
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Note
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Defeated Rajapaksa in his bid for unprecedented third term. Mainly backed by United National Party and other opposition parties nominated under New Democratic Front (Sri Lanka).
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Gotabaya Rajapaksa
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ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ
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கோட்டாபய ராஜபக்ச
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Time in office
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18 November 2019 - 14 July 2022
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Office duration
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2 years, 7 months, 26 days
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Lifespan
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1949 -
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Political party
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Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna
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Note
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Mismanagement led the country to an economic crisis, political crisis, massive anti-government protests. After fleeing the country, resigned on 14 July, and designating Ramil Wickremesinghe as Acting President.
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Ranil Wickremesinghe
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රනිල් වික්රමසිංහ
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ரணில் விக்ரமசிங்க
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Time in office
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Present
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Office duration
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13 July 2022 - present
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Lifespan
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1949 -
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Political party
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United National Party
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Note
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Acting President following the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa and was elected by Parliament to the office of president under Article 40 of the Constitution.
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Living former presidents
| President |
Term of office |
Date of birth |
| Chandrika Kumaratunga |
1994–2005
11 years, 7 days |
29 June 1945 |
| Mahinda Rajapaksa |
2005–2015
9 years, 51 days |
18 November 1945 |
| Maithripala Sirisena |
2015–2019
4 years, 313 days |
3 September 1951 |
| Gotabaya Rajapaksa |
2019–2022
2 years, 238 days |
20 June 1949 |
