List of heads of state of Sri Lanka

This is a list of the heads of state of Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon), from the independence of the Dominion of Ceylon in 1948 to the present day.

From 1948 to 1972, under the Ceylon Independence Act 1947 (11 & 12 Geo. 6. c. 7), the Monarch of the United Kingdom the served as the head of state of Ceylon, and was represented in Ceylon by a Governor-General. Ceylon became a republic under the Constitution of 1972, and the Monarch and Governor-General were replaced by a ceremonial President. Since 1978, under the current constitution, the president has executive powers, serving as both the head of state and head of government.

Monarch (1948–1972) edit

From 1948 to 1972, the Monarch of the United Kingdom served as the head of state of Ceylon. The Governor-General of Ceylon represented the monarch and exercised the duties of the head of state.

Portrait	Name	Reign start	Reign end	Consort	Relationship with predecessor(s)	Royal House
	George VI (1895–1952)	4 February 1948	6 February 1952	Queen Elizabeth	Position established	Windsor
	Elizabeth II (1926–2022)	6 February 1952	22 May 1972	Prince Philip	Daughter of George VI	Windsor

Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Appointer
Sir Henry Monck-Mason Moore GCMG KStJ (1887–1964)	4 February 1948	6 July 1949	George VI
Herwald Ramsbotham, 1st Viscount Soulbury GCMG GCVO OBE MC PC (1887–1971)	6 July 1949	17 July 1954	George VI
	6 July 1949	17 July 1954	Elizabeth II
Sir Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke GCMG KCVO KBE (1892–1978)	17 July 1954	2 March 1962
William Gopallawa MBE (1897–1981)	2 March 1962	22 May 1972

Under the 1972 Constitution of the Republic of Sri Lanka, the President of Sri Lanka replaced the Monarch as a ceremonial head of state. The president was elected by the National Assembly for a six-year term. In the event of a vacancy, the Prime Minister would serve as acting president.

In the 1978 Constitution, the presidency was made an executive post, otherwise all other the rules were the same as in the 1972 constitution.

Denotes Prime Minister acting as President

No.	Portrait	President (Birth–Death)	Elected	Tenure		Political affiliation		Prime Minister
No.	Portrait	President (Birth–Death)	Elected	Took office	Left office	Political affiliation		Prime Minister
Non-Executive President
1		William Gopallawa (1897–1981)	–	22 May 1972	4 February 1978		Independent	Bandaranaike Jayewardene
Executive President
2		J. R. Jayewardene (1906–1996)	1982	4 February 1978	2 January 1989		United National Party	Premadasa
3		Ranasinghe Premadasa (1924–1993)	1988	2 January 1989	1 May 1993 (assassinated)		United National Party	Wijetunga
4		Dingiri Banda Wijetunga (1916–2008)	–	1 May 1993	7 May 1993		United National Party	Wickremesinghe Kumaratunga
4		Dingiri Banda Wijetunga (1916–2008)	1993	7 May 1993	12 November 1994		United National Party	Wickremesinghe Kumaratunga
5		Chandrika Kumaratunga (born 1945)	1994 1999	12 November 1994	19 November 2005		Sri Lanka Freedom Party (PA/UPFA)	Bandaranaike Wickremanayake Wickremesinghe M. Rajapaksa
6		Mahinda Rajapaksa (born 1945)	2005 2010	19 November 2005	9 January 2015		Sri Lanka Freedom Party (UPFA)	Wickremanayake Jayaratne
7		Maithripala Sirisena (born 1951)	2015	9 January 2015	18 November 2019		Sri Lanka Freedom Party (UPFA)^[1]	Wickremesinghe
8		Gotabaya Rajapaksa (born 1949)	2019	18 November 2019	14 July 2022 (resigned)		Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPFA)	M. Rajapaksa Wickremesinghe
9		Ranil Wickremesinghe (born 1949)	–	14 July 2022	20 July 2022		United National Party	Gunawardena
9		Ranil Wickremesinghe (born 1949)	2022	20 July 2022	Incumbent		United National Party	Gunawardena