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| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | 16 October 1947; 78 years ago (1947-10-16) |
| Type | Highest executive body of theGovernment of Sri Lanka |
| Jurisdiction | Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka |
| Headquarters | Colombo |
| Agency executive | |
| Child agency | |
| Website | www.gov.lk Cabinet Office |
| This article is part of a series on the |
| Politics of Sri Lanka |
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InSri Lanka, theCabinet of Ministers is the council ofsenior ministers responsible and answerable to theParliament of Sri Lanka. ThePresident is a member of the cabinet and its head.[1]
TheDissanayake cabinet is the incumbent central government of Sri Lanka led by PresidentAnura Kumara Dissanayake.
TheExecutive Council of Ceylon was theExecutive Council created inBritish Ceylon by theBritish colonial administration on the recommendations of theColebrooke-Cameron Commission along with theLegislative Council of Ceylon, as the legislative body, on 13 March 1833.
At its creation the Executive Council was headed by theGovernor, along with five members appointed by the Governor. These five members were officials who held the posts of theColonial Secretary, theAttorney General, theAuditor-General, the Treasurer and theGeneral Officer Commanding, Ceylon. The Council exercised executive power and advised the governor. As a result of theFirst Manning Reforms threenon-officials were elected to the executive council.
With enactment of the new constitution of theDominion of Ceylon in 1947 the Executive Council was replaced by aNational Cabinet.
As per theSri Lankan Constitution, thePresident is a member of and head of the cabinet.[1] The president appoints asPrime Minister, aMember of Parliament who has the confidence of parliament.[1] Other ministers of the cabinet are appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister.[2] The president may appoint himself to any ministry he chooses.[2] According to the constitution the president must be theMinister of Defence.[3] The President also appoints, in consultation with the Prime Minister,non-cabinet ministers (state ministers, project ministers) andDeputy ministers.[4][5]
Constitutionally, theCabinet of Ministers charged with the direction and control of the Government of the Republic and is collectively responsible and answerable to Parliament. Cabinet ministers may table cabinet papers.
The cabinet meets on a regular basis, usually weekly on a Tuesday to discuss the most important issues of government policy. The president typically chairs the meeting and sets the agenda. All cabinet meetings are held behind closed doors and theminutes are kept confidential. The cabinet meets at theOld Parliament Building inColombo.
A cabinetcommittee is a subset of the larger Cabinet, consisting of a number of ministers who have responsibility in related areas of policy.[6]
The Cabinet office is located in theRepublic Building and is headed by the Secretary to the Cabinet, appointed by the President.
A cabinet minister would receive a salary of Rs. 140,000, which was having been increased from 65,000 from January 2018 and is paid monthly from the respective ministry budget.[7] In addition, since all ministers are members of parliament they are entitled toallowances and benefits of parliamentarians.[8]
It had been the practice for Cabinet ministers to be allocated anofficial residence, usually from 31 government bungalows, which were Class “A” type quarters built by the British Colonial Government of Ceylon along Bullers Road (now Bauddhaloka Mawatha) in the 1930s to house senior government officers. These mansions have a large drawing room, dining room, office room, and four large bedrooms. Since the 1980s these were allocated to ministers as their official residences due to security threats and the surrounding area, including part of Bauddhaloka Mawatha was closed to the public. Managed by the Ministry of Public Administration, theNational People's Power government as stated in 2024, these bungalows will not be issued to ministers or state officials.[9] PresidentDissanayake has stated that ministers will not be given houses in Colombo in the future.[10]
Each Cabinet minister has an office and personal staff of 15 paid for by their ministry which includes a Private Secretary, a Coordinating Secretary, a Press Secretary, and a Public Relations Officer.[11]
Each cabinet minister is entitled to two vehicles, which includes an official vehicle and a security vehicle provided and maintained by their ministry. For domestic air travel, helicopters from theNo. 4 (VVIP/VIP) Helicopter Squadron of theSri Lanka Air Force are charted by the ministry.
Traditionally, security for the ministers has been provided by theSri Lanka Police. During emergencies military units have been allocated to bolster security to certain ministers based on threat levels. Currently, theMinisterial Security Division is in charge of security of ministers.
In theSri Lankan order of precedence, the cabinet ministers are placed above theformer presidents but below theprovincial governors (within their respective province).
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