Chief Opposition Whip (Sri Lanka)

The Chief Opposition Whip is a position in the Parliament of Sri Lanka. The position was first established in 1960. ^[1]

Chief Opposition Whip of Sri Lanka
Incumbent Gayantha Karunathilaka since 2 December 2024
Appointer	Leader of the Opposition
Inaugural holder	J. R. Jayewardene
Formation	1960

List of Chief Opposition Whips

Parties

   United National Party    Sri Lanka Freedom Party    Tamil United Liberation Front    Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna    Samagi Jana Balawegaya

Name		Portrait	Tenure	Political party	Parliament	References
Parliament of Ceylon (1960–1972)
	J. R. Jayewardene		1960 – 1965	United National Party	5th	[1]
	M. P. de Z. Siriwardena		1965 – 1970	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	6th	[1]
	Ranasinghe Premadasa		1970 – 1972	United National Party	7th	[1]
National State Assembly (1972–1978)
	Ranasinghe Premadasa		1972 – 1977	United National Party	1st	[1]
	X. M. Sellathambu		1977 – 1978	Tamil United Liberation Front	2nd	[1]
Parliament of Sri Lanka (1978–present)
	X. M. Sellathambu		1978 – 1983	Tamil United Liberation Front	8th	[1]
	Lakshman Jayakody		1983 – 1988	Sri Lanka Freedom Party		[1]
	Richard Pathirana		1989 – 24 June 1994	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	9th	[1]
	Wijayapala Mendis		25 August 1994 – 21 July 1998	United National Party	10th	[1]
	W. J. M. Lokubandara		22 July 1998 – 10 October 2001	United National Party	10th 11th	[1]
	Mahinda Rajapaksa		18 December 2001 – 5 February 2002	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	12th	[1]
	Mangala Samaraweera		6 February 2002 – 7 February 2004	Sri Lanka Freedom Party		[1]
	Mahinda Samarasinghe		22 April 2004 – 26 January 2006	United National Party	13th	[1]
	Joseph Michael Perera		26 January 2006 – 20 April 2010	United National Party		[1]
	John Amaratunga		22 April 2010 – 20 January 2015	United National Party	14th	[1]
	W. D. J. Senewiratne		20 January 2015 – 26 June 2015	Sri Lanka Freedom Party		[1]
	Anura Kumara Dissanayake		3 September 2015 – 18 December 2018	Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna	15th	[1]
	Mahinda Amaraweera		18 December 2018 – 21 November 2019	Sri Lanka Freedom Party		[1]
	Gayantha Karunatileka		3 January 2020 – 2 March 2020	United National Party		[1]
	Lakshman Kiriella		20 August 2020 – 24 September 2024	Samagi Jana Balawegaya	16th	[1]
	Gayantha Karunathilaka		2 December 2024 – present	Samagi Jana Balawegaya	17th	[1] [2]

References

1. "Chief Opposition Whips" . Retrieved 11 April 2016.
2. "Gayantha Karunatilake appointed Chief Opposition Whip". Ada Derana. 2 December 2024. Archived from the original on 2 December 2024. Retrieved 2 December 2024.

External links

• Parliament of Sri Lanka – Handbook of Parliament,