Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka

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Governor of Central Bank of
Sri Lanka
Emblem of Sri Lanka.svg
since 7 April 2022
Member of Monetary Board of Central Bank of Sri Lanka
Residence Bank House, Colombo
Appointer President of Sri Lanka
Term length 6 Years
Formation28 August 1950;75 years ago (1950-08-28)
First holder John Exter
Website Governors of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka

The Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) functions as the chief executive of the Sri Lankan central bank. The post is the ex-officio chairperson of the Monetary Board of Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Since its establishment in 1950, the CBSL has been headed by sixteen governors. The governor has two deputies and several assistant governors. The inaugural officeholder was the American John Exter who served the Government of Sri Lanka in helping found the central bank. The position is currently held by Nandalal Weerasinghe who was appointed to the office on 8 April 2022. [1]

Contents

Procedure for appointment

The Monetary Law Act, amended for the last time in 2014, [2] [3] indicated "The Governor of the Central Bank shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Minister in charge of the subject of Finance". [4] This was in effect during the 2015 appointment of Governor Arjuna Mahendran that preceded the Central Bank of Sri Lanka bond scandal.

In 2022, the Twenty-first Amendment to the Constitution expanded the scope of the Constitutional Council and required their approval for nominees for Governor of the Central Bank. [5] Thereafter, in 2023, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Act replaced the Monetary Law Act and stipulated a specific new procedure for appointing Governors. The Minister of Finance must still recommend nominees for Governor, [6] but both the President and the Constitutional Council are allowed to reject nominees. [7]

Privileges

The term of office lasts for six years and includes several privileges in form of allowances. This includes use of the Bank House as the official residence, transport and security provided by the CBSL. The governor is entitled to a pension. In the order of precedence, the governor is equivalent to a cabinet minister. [8]

List of governors of the Central Bank

#GovernorTook officeLeft officeAppointed by
1 John Exter 28 August 195030 June 1953 D. S. Senanayake
2 N. U. Jayawardena 1 July 195313 October 1954 Dudley Senanayake
3 Arthur Ranasinghe 14 October 195430 June 1959 John Kotelawala
4 Don William Rajapatirana 1 July 195930 August 1967 S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike
5 William Tennekoon 31 August 196731 May 1971 Dudley Senanayake
6 Herbert Tennekoon 1 July 197122 January 1979 Sirimavo Bandaranaike
7 Warnasena Rasaputra 15 February 197918 November 1988 J. R. Jayewardene
8 Neville Karunatilake 19 November 198830 June 1992
9 Heen Banda Dissanayaka 1 July 199214 November 1995 Ranasinghe Premadasa
10 Amarananda Jayawardena 15 November 199530 June 2004 Chandrika Kumaratunga
11 Sunil Mendis 1 July 200430 June 2006
12 Ajith Nivard Cabraal 1 July 20069 January 2015 Mahinda Rajapaksa
13 Arjuna Mahendran 26 January 201530 June 2016 Maithripala Sirisena
14 Indrajit Coomaraswamy 2 July 201620 December 2019
15 W. D. Lakshman 24 December 201914 September 2021 Gotabaya Rajapaksa
16 Ajith Nivard Cabraal 15 September 20214 April 2022
17 Nandalal Weerasinghe 8 April 2022present

References

  1. ↑ "Nandalal Weerasinghe appointed new CBSL Governor and Mahinda Siriwardana Finance Ministry Secretary - Business News | Daily Mirror". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  2. ↑ "Monetary Law (Amendment) Act, No. 15 of 2014" (PDF). Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The Parliament of Sri Lanka. 25 April 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 December 2025. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
  3. ↑ "Monetary Law (Amendment) Act, No. 15 of 2014" (PDF). Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan Ministry of Justice LawNet. 25 April 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 December 2025. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
  4. ↑ "Monetary Law act (chapter 422) (Incorporating Amendments up to 30th June, 2014)" (PDF). Central Bank of Sri Lanka. 30 June 2014. Section 12.(1). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 March 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
  5. ↑ "Twenty First Amendment to the Constitution" (PDF). Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 July 2024. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
  6. ↑ "Central Bank of Sri Lanka Act, No. 16 of 2023" (PDF). Central Bank of Sri Lanka. 14 September 2023. Section 124. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
  7. ↑ "Central Bank of Sri Lanka Act, No. 16 of 2023" (PDF). Central Bank of Sri Lanka. 14 September 2023. Section 15, Subsections (3) to (6). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
  8. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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