In most common law jurisdictions,the attorney general or attorney-general is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions,attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enforcement,prosecutions or even responsibility for legal affairs generally. In practice,the extent to which the attorney general personally provides legal advice to the government varies between jurisdictions,and even between individual office-holders within the same jurisdiction,often depending on the level and nature of the office-holder's prior legal experience.
Lalith William Samarasekera Athulathmudali,PC,known as Lalith Athulathmudali,was a Sri Lankan politician. He was a prominent member of the United National Party,who served as Minister of Trade and Shipping;Minister National Security and Deputy Minister of Defence;Minister of Agriculture,Food and Cooperatives and finally Minister of Education. Following a failed impeachment of President Ranasinghe Premadasa,he was removed from the UNP and formed his own party,the Democratic United National Front. He was assassinated under mysterious circumstances in 1993.
The Ministry of Defence is the cabinet ministry of the Government of Sri Lanka responsible for implementation of government defence policy and acts as the overall headquarters of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces.
A President's Counsel is an eminent lawyer who is appointed by the President of Sri Lanka as an individual "learned in the law". The term is an honorific that replaced the Queen's Counsel (QC),which Sri Lanka ceased appointing when it became a republic in 1972. It is equivalent to the appointment of a King's Counsel in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms,and that of Senior Counsel in Commonwealth republics,bearing the same privileges,such as sitting within the Bar of court.
Ravindra Sandresh Karunanayake is a Sri Lankan politician. A former Member of Parliament for the Colombo District,he served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from May 2017 to August 2017,Minister of Finance from 2015 to 2017,and Cabinet Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs from 2001 to 2004 and Cabinet Minister of Power and Energy since December 2018 till November 2019.
Mohamed Faiszer Musthapha,PC,MP is a Sri Lankan lawyer and a politician. He was the Minister of Sports and Provincial Councils and Local Government and a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka. Faiszer Musthapha is married to Fathima Rifa who is also a lawyer. They have two daughters.
Chitta Ranjan De Silva,PC was a Sri Lankan lawyer. He was Attorney General and Solicitor General of Sri Lanka. He was the Chairman of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission.
Kandapper Chinniah Kamalasabayson was a Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer,Solicitor General of Sri Lanka and Attorney General of Sri Lanka.
Mohamed Shibly Aziz,PC was a Sri Lankan lawyer. He served as Attorney General of Sri Lanka from 1995 to 1996 and served in the Constitution Council of Sri Lanka from 2015 to 2018.
Murugeysen Tiruchelvam,QC was a Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and politician. Tiruchelvam was a leading lawyer having served as the Solicitor General of Ceylon;he served as the Cabinet Minister of Local Government as a member of Senate of Ceylon.
Rear Admiral Sarath Palitha Fernando,PC,VNF is a Sri Lankan lawyer. He is the former Attorney General of Sri Lanka and had served as Solicitor General of Sri Lanka and Judge Advocate of the Sri Lanka Navy.
Suhada Gamlath PC is a Sri Lankan lawyer. He was the 44th Solicitor General of Sri Lanka and temporarily the Attorney General of Sri Lanka from January to February 2016. He was a former Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and Law Reforms. He was educated at Royal College Colombo and at the Sri Lanka Law College.
Vasantha Senanayake is a Sri Lankan politician who was a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka. He belongs to the United National Party. He is a great-grandson of D. S. Senanayake and cousin of Ruwan Wijewardene.
Manikku Wadumestri Hendrick de Silva,QC was a Ceylonese lawyer,judge and statesman. He served in several top legal positions in the island,as the 26th Attorney General of Ceylon,a Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Ceylon and finally the Minister of Justice in the cabinet of S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike as a member of the Senate of Ceylon.
Justice S. W. B. Wadugodapitiya,PC is a Sri Lankan judge. He was a Judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and had served as the Acting Chief Justice. He was also the 33rd Solicitor General of Sri Lanka.
Jayantha Chandrasiri Jayasuriya,PC is a lawyer who is serving as the 47th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka since 2019. Jayasuriya was approved by the Constitutional Council on the 26 April 2019 and sworn in three days later on the 29 April,succeeding Chief Justice Nalin Perera. He previously served as the 45th Attorney General of Sri Lanka. While serving as Attorney General Jayasuriya defended the sacking of the Prime Minister by the President of Sri Lanka but was over-ruled by the Supreme Court. Jayasuriya controversially requested an extension of the term of office of President Sirisena prior to being made Chief Justice. The Supreme Court overruled that request.
Dappula de LiveraPC is a Sri Lankan lawyer and the former Attorney General of Sri Lanka. He previously served as the Solicitor General of Sri Lanka from February 2018 and took over as acting attorney general from 29 April 2019 until his formal appointment in May 2019.
The second Sirisena cabinet was a central government of Sri Lanka led by President Maithripala Sirisena. It was formed in August 2015 after the parliamentary election and ended in October 2018 with the dismissal of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe,precipitating the 2018 constitutional crisis.
Mohamed Uvais Mohamed Ali Sabry,PC,MP,also known as Ali Sabry,is a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician. He is the Current Minister of Foreign Affairs serving since 22 July 2022. He previously served as the Minister of Finance until 9 May 2022. He was a Member of Parliament,appointed from the national list of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna. He also served as the Minister of Justice until 9 May 2022. He served as the defense counsel of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa,chief legal adviser and President of the Muslim Federation of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna.
Sanjay Rajaratnam,PC is a Sri Lankan lawyer. He is the current Attorney General of Sri Lanka. He previously served as the Acting Solicitor General of Sri Lanka from October 2019 up until May 2021.
