List of presidents of Sri Lanka

• Top left: William Gopallawa was the first and only non-executive president of Sri Lanka.
• Top right: J. R. Jayewardene was the first executive president of Sri Lanka.
• Bottom left: Chandrika Kumaratunga was the first female president and also the longest serving president of Sri Lanka.
• Bottom right: Anura Kumara Dissanayake is the current president of Sri Lanka.

The president of Sri Lanka is the elected head of state and the chief executive of Sri Lanka. The president is a dominant political figure in the country. The office was created in 1972, as more of a ceremonial position. It was empowered with executive powers by the 1978 Constitution introduced by J. R. Jayewardene. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Presidents

Parties

   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) Home province	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 last Governor-General of Ceylon and the first non-executive president when Ceylon declared 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 a May Day rally by an LTTE suicide 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 [N 1]				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 multiple assassination attempts by the LTTE, all of which were unsuccessful.
	6		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 the Sri Lankan civil war with the LTTE. 18th Amendment to the Constitution was instated during his term. Failed to win reelection in 2015.
	7		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 [N 2]	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 the New Democratic Front with the backing of the UNP. 19th Amendment to the Constitution was instated during his term.
	8		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 an economic crisis, and a subsequent political crisis when he refused to resign in response to massive anti-government protests. Appointed Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister in May 2022, following Mahinda Rajapaksa's resignation. Resigned on 14 July, after fleeing the country the day before, designating Wickremesinghe as acting president.
	9		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
				2 years, 2 months and 9 days
				Appointed as acting president following Rajapaksa's resignation. On 20 July 2022 he was elected 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 and 13 days
				Defeated Sajith Premadasa and Ranil Wickremesinghe in a three-way contest.

Timeline

See also

• Presidential Secretariat
• List of prime ministers of Sri Lanka

Notes

1. Indirect election by parliarment.
2. Elected as a New Democratic Front candidate.

References

1. "Democracy, Development and the Executive Presidency in Sri Lanka" (PDF). London School of Economics. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
2. "The Executive Presidency: A Left Perspective" (PDF). Retrieved 3 October 2025.
3. "Towards an Open Economy (1977-2005)". Ministry of Finance Sri Lanka. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
4. "Heads of State". Parliament of Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
5. "Former Sri Lanka president dies, leaves mixed legacy". CNN. 1 November 1996. Archived from the original on 6 November 1996. Retrieved 4 October 2008.
6. "J.R. Jayewardene Biography". Britannica. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
7. "Ranasinghe Premadasa Biography". Britannica. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
8. "Dingiri Banda Wijetunga Biography". Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
9. "Colombo (dpa) - Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga Wednesday launched the government's rebuilding programme following the tsunami disasters which devastated two-thirds of the coastal belt and left an estimated 40,000 dead". United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Archived from the original on 3 October 2025. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
10. "Chandrika Kumaratunga Biography". Britannica. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
11. "Education Policy 1994-2005" . Retrieved 3 October 2025.
12. "Disaster management effort". News First. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
13. "Mahinda Rajapaksa Biography" . Retrieved 3 October 2025.
14. "Maithripala Sirisena Biography" . Retrieved 3 October 2025.
15. "Presidential candidates cast their votes". News First . Archived from the original on 15 July 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
16. Pathi, Krutika (13 July 2022). "Thousands protest against Sri Lanka's new acting president". Associated Press . Colombo. Archived from the original on 13 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
17. Marian, Teena (14 July 2022). "Speaker yet to receive GRs resignation". News First . Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
18. Jayasinghe, Uditha (14 July 2022). "Sri Lanka awaits president's resignation after flight". Reuters . Colombo. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
19. "Sri Lanka Crisis LIVE Updates: Gotabaya Rajapaksa steps down as president, emails resignation letter to parliament speaker". Times Of India. 14 July 2022. Archived from the original on 13 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
20. Gunasekara, Skandha; Schmall, Emily; Mashal, Mujib (14 July 2022). "Sri Lanka's President Resigns After Months of Protest". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
21. "Sri Lanka PM Wickremesinghe sworn in as acting president - govt official". Reuters . Archived from the original on 15 July 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
22. "Anura Kumara Dissanayake Biography" . Retrieved 3 October 2025.

External links

General

• "Official Website of the President of Sri Lanka". Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2009.
• "Heads of State of Sri Lanka". Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2013.