| No. | Portrait | Name
(Born-Died) | Term | Political Party | Head(s) of Government |
|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|
| Minister of External Affairs and Defence |
|---|
| 1 | | D. S. Senanayake
(1883–1952) | 24 September 1947 | 22 March 1952 † | 4 years, 180 days | UNP | D. S. Senanayake |
| 2 | | Dudley Senanayake
(1911–1973) | 22 March 1952 | 12 October 1953 | 1 year, 204 days | UNP | Dudley Senanayake |
| 3 | | John Kotelawala
(1895–1980) | 12 October 1953 | 12 April 1956 | 2 years, 183 days | UNP | John Kotelawala |
| 4 | | S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike
(1899–1959) | 12 April 1956 | 26 September 1959 † | 3 years, 167 days | SLFP | S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike |
| 5 | | Wijeyananda Dahanayake
(1901–1997) | 26 September 1959 | 20 March 1960 | 176 days | Sinhala Language Front | Wijeyananda Dahanayake |
| (2) | | Dudley Senanayake
(1911–1973) | 21 March 1960 | 21 July 1960 | 122 days | UNP | Dudley Senanayake |
| 6 | | Sirimavo Bandaranaike
(1916–2000) | 21 July 1960 | 25 March 1965 | 4 years, 247 days | SLFP | Sirimavo Bandaranaike |
| (2) | | Dudley Senanayake
(1911–1973) | 25 March 1965 | 29 May 1970 | 5 years, 65 days | UNP | Dudley Senanayake |
| (6) | | Sirimavo Bandaranaike
(1916–2000) | 29 May 1970 | 23 July 1977 | 7 years, 55 days | SLFP | Sirimavo Bandaranaike |
| 7 | | J. R. Jayewardene
(1906–1996) | 23 July 1977 | 4 February 1978 | 196 days | UNP | J. R. Jayewardene |
| Minister of Defence |
|---|
| 1 | | Ranasinghe Premadasa
(1924–1993) | 1989 | ? | ? | UNP | Ranasinghe Premadasa |
| 2 | | Ranjan Wijeratne
(1931–1991) | ? | ? | ? | UNP | Ranasinghe Premadasa |
| 3 | | Dingiri Banda Wijetunga
(1916–2008) | 7 May 1993 | 12 November 1994 | 1 year, 189 days | UNP | Dingiri Banda Wijetunga |
| 4 | | Chandrika Kumaratunga
(born 1945) | 12 November 1994 | 12 December 2001 | 7 years, 30 days | SLFP | Chandrika Kumaratunga |
| 5 | | Tilak Marapana
(born 1942) | 12 December 2001 | 4 November 2003 | 1 year, 327 days | UNP | Chandrika Kumaratunga |
| (4) | | Chandrika Kumaratunga
(born 1945) | 4 November 2003 | 19 November 2005 | 2 years, 15 days | SLFP | Chandrika Kumaratunga |
| Minister of Defence and Urban Development |
|---|
| 1 | | Mahinda Rajapaksa
(born 1945) | 19 November 2005 | 8 January 2015 | 9 years, 50 days | SLFP | Mahinda Rajapaksa |
| Minister of Defence |
|---|
| 6 | | Maithripala Sirisena
(born 1951) | 12 January 2015 | 18 November 2019 | 4 years, 310 days | SLFP | Maithripala Sirisena |
|
| 7 | | Gotabaya Rajapaksa
(born 1949) | 28 November 2019 | 14 July 2022 | 2 years, 228 days | SLPP | Gotabaya Rajapaksa |
|
| 8 | | Ranil Wickremesinghe
(born 1949) | 15 July 2022 | 23 September 2024 | 2 years, 243 days | UNP | Ranil Wickremesinghe |
|
| 9 | | Anura Kumara Dissanayake
(born 1968) | 23 September 2024 | Incumbent | 173 days | NPP | Anura Kumara Dissanayake |
