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Thepresident of Sri Lanka is the electedhead of state and thechief executive ofSri Lanka. The president is a dominant political figure in the country. The office was created in 1972, as more of aceremonial position. It was empowered withexecutive powers by the 1978 Constitution introduced byJ. R. Jayewardene.[1][2][3]
Independent (1) United National Party (4) Sri Lanka Freedom Party (3) Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (1) National People's Power (1)
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) Homeprovince | Term of office Electoral mandates Time in office | Other ministerial offices held while president | Party (Alliance) | Government | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Executive President (1972–1978) | ||||||||||
| 1 | |  William Gopallawa විලියම් ගොපල්ලව வில்லியம் கோபள்ளவா (1896–1981) Central | 22 May 1972 | 4 February 1978 | Independent | Sirimavo Bandaranaike II | 10th | [4] | ||
| — | ||||||||||
| 5 years, 8 months and 13 days | ||||||||||
| Served as the lastGovernor-General of Ceylon and the first non-executive president when Ceylondeclared itself a republic in 1972 and changed its name to Sri Lanka. | ||||||||||
| Executive President of Sri Lanka (1978–present) | ||||||||||
| 2 | |  Junius Richard Jayewardene ජුනියස් රිචඩ් ජයවර්ධන ஜூனியஸ் ரிச்சட் ஜயவர்தனா (1906–1996) Western | 4 February 1978 | 2 January 1989 | Minister of Defence Minister of Planning & Economic Affairs Minister of Plan Implementation Minister of Higher Education | United National Party | Jayewardene | 11th 12th | [5][6] | |
| 1982 | ||||||||||
| 10 years, 11 months and 29 days | ||||||||||
| Introduced the executive presidency in 1978, and assumed the position of president of Sri Lanka. | ||||||||||
| 3 |  |  Sri Lankabhimanya Ranasinghe Premadasa රණසිංහ ප්රේමදාස ரணசிங்க பிரேமதாசா (1924–1993) Western | 2 January 1989 | 1 May 1993† | Minister of Defence Minister of Buddha Sasana Minister of Policy Planning & Implementation | United National Party | Premadasa | 13th | [7] | |
| 1988 | ||||||||||
| 4 years and 4 months | ||||||||||
| Assassinated during aMay Day rally by anLTTEsuicide bomber. | ||||||||||
| 4 |  Sri Lankabhimanya Dingiri Banda Wijetunga ඩිංගිරි බණ්ඩා විජේතුංග டிங்கிரி பண்ட விஜேதுங்க (1916–2008) Central | 1 May 1993 | 7 May 1993 | Minister of Defence Minister of Finance Minister of Buddhist Affairs | United National Party | Wijetunga I | 13th | [8] | ||
| 7 May 1993 | 12 November 1994 | |||||||||
| 1993[a] | Wijetunga II | 14th | ||||||||
| 1 year, 6 months and 10 days | ||||||||||
| Appointed as acting president following Premadasa's assassination. On 7 May 1993 he was elected by Parliament to the office of president under Article 40 of the Constitution. | ||||||||||
| 5 | |  Chandrika Kumaratunga චන්ද්රිකා කුමාරතුංග சந்திரிகா பண்டாரநாயக்கே குமாரதுங்கா (born 1945) Western | 12 November 1994 | 19 November 2005 | Minister of Defence (1999–2005) Minister of Education Disaster rehabilitation leader (2004 tsunami)[9] | Sri Lanka Freedom Party (PA) | Kumaratunga | 14th 15th | [10][11][12] | |
| 1994,1999 | 16th | |||||||||
| 11 years and 7 days | 17th | |||||||||
| The first non-UNP president of the country. Victim of multipleassassination attempts by theLTTE, all of which were unsuccessful. | ||||||||||
| 6 | .jpg) |  Mahinda Rajapaksa මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ (born 1945) Southern | 19 November 2005 | 9 January 2015 | Minister of Defence Minister of Finance Minister of Law & Order Minister of Highways, Ports & Shipping | Sri Lanka Freedom Party (UPFA) | Mahinda Rajapaksa | 17th 18th | [13] | |
| 2005,2010 | ||||||||||
| 9 years, 1 month and 21 days | ||||||||||
| Ended theSri Lankan civil war with theLTTE. 18th Amendment to the Constitution was instated during his term. Failed to win reelection in 2015. | ||||||||||
| 7 | .jpg) | .svg) Maithripala Sirisena මෛත්රීපාල සිරිසේන மைத்திரிபால சிறிசேன (born 1951) North Central | 9 January 2015 | 18 November 2019 | Minister of Defence Minister of Mahaweli Development and Environment | Sri Lanka Freedom Party[b] | Sirisena I | 18th | [14] | |
| 2015 | Sirisena II | 19th | ||||||||
| 4 years, 10 months and 9 days | Sirisena IV | |||||||||
| Defeated Rajapaksa in his unsuccessful bid for a third term. Ran as a candidate of theNew Democratic Front with the backing of the UNP.19th Amendment to the Constitution was instated during his term. | ||||||||||
| 8 |  | .gif) Gotabaya Rajapaksa ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ கோட்டாபய ராஜபக்ஷ (born 1949) Southern[15] | 18 November 2019 | 14 July 2022 | Minister of Defence Minister of Technology | Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPFA) | Rajapaksa I | 19th | [16][17][18][19] | |
| 2019 | Rajapaksa II | 20th | ||||||||
| Rajapaksa III | ||||||||||
| 2 years, 7 months and 26 days | Rajapaksa IV | |||||||||
| Appointed Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister.20th Amendment to the Constitution was instated during his term. Economic mismanagement led the country to aneconomic crisis, and a subsequentpolitical crisis when he refused to resign in response to massiveanti-government protests. AppointedRanil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister in May 2022, following Mahinda Rajapaksa's resignation. Resigned on 14 July, afterfleeing the country the day before, designating Wickremesinghe as acting president. | ||||||||||
| 9 | .jpg) | Ranil Wickremesinghe රනිල් වික්රමසිංහ ரணில் விக்ரமசிங்க (born 1949) Western | 14 July 2022 | 20 July 2022 | Minister of Defence Minister of Technology Minister of Finance Minister of Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment | United National Party | Wickremesinghe | 20th | [20][21] | |
| 20 July 2022 | 23 September 2024 | |||||||||
| 2022[a] | ||||||||||
| 2 years, 2 months and 9 days | ||||||||||
| Appointed as acting president following Rajapaksa's resignation. On 20 July 2022 he waselected by Parliament to the office of president under Article 40 of the Constitution. Failed to win reelection in 2024. | ||||||||||
| 10 | | Anura Kumara Dissanayake අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක அநுர குமார திசாநாயக்க (born 1968) Western | 23 September 2024 | Incumbent | Minister of Defence Minister of Finance | Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (NPP) | Dissanayake I | 20th | [22] | |
| 2024 | Dissanayake II | 21st | ||||||||
| 1 year, 2 months and 3 days | ||||||||||
| DefeatedSajith Premadasa andRanil Wickremesinghe in a three-way contest. | ||||||||||
