Leader of the Opposition (Sri Lanka)

In Sri Lanka, the Leader of the Opposition is the leader of the largest political party in Parliament that is not a part of the government. This is usually the leader of the second-largest party in Parliament.

Leader of the Opposition of Sri Lanka
ශ්‍රී ලංකා විපක්ෂ නායක
இலங்கை எதிர்க்கட்சித் தலைவர்
since 3 January 2020
StyleThe Honourable
AppointerParliament of Sri Lanka
Term lengthWhile leader of the largest political party in Parliament that is not in government
Inaugural holderN. M. Perera
Formation14 October 1947

Leader of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya Sajith Premadasa has been the incumbent Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament since 3 January 2020. He was officially sworn in on 20 August 2020, after the Speaker announced his appointment in parliament.[1][2]

Privileges of office

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Salary

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In 2016, the Leader of the Opposition received a salary month and other entitlements of a Member of Parliament.[3]

Other privileges

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The leader of the opposition is entitled to an official residence, office, transport and security equal that of a Cabinet Minister.[4][5]

Order of precedence

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In the Sri Lankan order of precedence, the leader of the opposition is ranked at the level of a Cabinet Minister in the order of precedence.

Leaders of the Opposition (1947–present)

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Parties

  Lanka Sama Samaja Party   Sri Lanka Freedom Party   United National Party   Tamil United Liberation Front   Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi   Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna   Samagi Jana Balawegaya

No.
(Terms)
Opposition Leader Political party Term of office Government
Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)
Took office Left office Days
1   N. M. Perera
ඇන්. ඇම්. පෙරේරා
(1905–1979)
Lanka Sama Samaja Party 14 October 1947 8 April 1952 1638 D. S. Senanayake 1st
Dudley Senanayake I
Office vacant 8 April 1952 9 June 1952 62
2   S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike
එස්. ඩබ්. ආර්. ඩී. බණ්ඩාරනායක
(1899–1959)
Sri Lanka Freedom Party 9 June 1952 18 February 1956 1349 2nd
Kotelawala
Office vacant 18 February 1956 19 April 1956 61
S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike 3rd
(1)   N. M. Perera
ඇන්. ඇම්. පෙරේරා
(1905–1979)
Lanka Sama Samaja Party 19 April 1956 5 December 1959 1325
Dahanayake
Office vacant 5 December 1959 30 March 1960 116
Dudley Senanayake II
3   C. P. de Silva
සී. පී. ද සිල්වා
(1912–1972)
Sri Lanka Freedom Party 30 March 1960 23 April 1960 24 4th
Office vacant 23 April 1960 5 August 1960 104
Sirimavo Bandaranayake I
4   Dudley Senanayake
ඩඩ්ලි සේනානායක
(1911–1973)
United National Party 5 August 1960 17 December 1964 1595 5th
Office vacant 17 December 1964 5 April 1965 109
Dudley Senanayake III
5   Sirimavo Bandaranaike
සිරිමාවෝ බණ්ඩාරනායක
(1916–2000)
Sri Lanka Freedom Party 5 April 1965 25 March 1970 1815 6th
Office vacant 25 March 1970 7 June 1970 74
Sirimavo Bandaranayake II
6   J. R. Jayewardene
ජේ. ආර්. ජයවර්ධන
(1906–1996)
United National Party 7 June 1970 18 May 1977 2537 7th
Office vacant 18 May 1977 4 August 1977 78
Jayewardene
7   A. Amirthalingam
அப்பாப்பிள்ளை அமிர்தலிங்கம்
(1927–1989)
Tamil United Liberation Front 4 August 1977 24 October 1983 2272 8th
Office vacant 24 October 1983 8 November 1983 15
8   Anura Bandaranaike
අනුර බණ්ඩාරනායක
(1949–2008)
Sri Lanka Freedom Party 8 November 1983 20 December 1988 1869
Office vacant 20 December 1988 9 March 1989 79
Premadasa
(5)   Sirimavo Bandaranaike
සිරිමාවෝ බණ්ඩාරනායක
(1916–2000)
Sri Lanka Freedom Party 9 March 1989 24 June 1994 1902 9th
Wijetunga
Office vacant 24 June 1994 25 August 1994 62
9   Gamini Dissanayake
ගාමිණි දිසානායක
(1942–1994)
United National Party 25 August 1994 24 October 1994 60 10th
Office vacant 24 October 1994 28 October 1994 4
Kumaratunga
10   Ranil Wickremesinghe
රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ
(born 1949)
United National Party 28 October 1994 10 October 2001 2549 10th
11th
Office vacant 10 October 2001 18 December 2001 69
11   Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
රත්නසිරි වික්‍රමනායක
(1933–2016)
Sri Lanka Freedom Party 18 December 2001 31 January 2002 378 12th
Office vacant 31 January 2002 6 February 2002 6
12   Mahinda Rajapaksa
මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ
(born 1945)
Sri Lanka Freedom Party 6 February 2002 7 February 2004 730
Office vacant 7 February 2004 22 April 2004 75
(10)   Ranil Wickremesinghe
රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ
(born 1949)
United National Party 22 April 2004 9 January 2015 3914 13th
Mahinda Rajapaksa 14th
Office vacant 9 January 2015 16 January 2015 7 Sirisena I
13   Nimal Siripala de Silva
නිමල් සිරිපාල ද සිල්වා
(born 1944)
Sri Lanka Freedom Party 16 January 2015 26 June 2015 130
Office vacant 26 June 2015 3 September 2015 69
14   R. Sampanthan
இரா. சம்பந்தன்
(1933–2024)
Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi 3 September 2015 18 December 2018 1202 Sirisena II 15th
(12)   Mahinda Rajapaksa
මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ
(born 1945)
Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna 18 December 2018 21 November 2019 338 Sirisena IV
Office vacant 21 November 2019 3 January 2020 43 Gotabaya Rajapaksa
15   Sajith Premadasa
සජිත් ප්‍රේමදාස
(born 1967)
Samagi Jana Balawegaya 3 January 2020 Incumbent 1737
16th
Wickremesinghe

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Srinivasan, Meera (5 December 2019). "Sajith Premadasa named Opposition leader in Sri Lanka". The Hindu.
  2. ^ "Sri Lanka : Speaker to officially announce appointment of Opposition Leader when parliament convenes in January". www.colombopage.com. Archived from the original on 2019-12-06.
  3. ^ Of Ministers’ Salaries And Parliamentary Perks
  4. ^ No official residence for Opposition Leader
  5. ^ Sampanthan finally gets official residence!
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