Sri Lanka Prime Ministers List 2026 is updated with Harini Amarasuriya holding the office as the 16th Prime Minister of the country. She took charge on 24 September 2024 after Anura Kumara Dissanayake won the presidential election, and she continues in the post in 2026. This page carries the full list of Sri Lanka Prime Ministers from 1947 till now, along with the living former Prime Ministers and the current Cabinet Ministers list.
Prime Minister of Sri Lanka leads the Cabinet and works as the deputy to the President. If a President dies in office, the Prime Minister becomes acting President until Parliament elects a successor or fresh elections are held to pick a new President. That happened in 1993, when President Ranasinghe Premadasa was assassinated and Prime Minister Dingiri Banda Wijetunga stepped into the President's role.
Sri Lanka Prime Ministers List 2026
Sri Lanka has seen 16 Prime Ministers since the position was created in 1947, shortly before the island gained independence as the Dominion of Ceylon. Ceylon stayed a dominion for 24 years, and on 22 May 1972 the country became a republic and was renamed the Republic of Sri Lanka. Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as Prime Minister six times, the highest for any Sri Lankan PM, while Dudley Senanayake and Sirimavo Bandaranaike were appointed three times each.
Harini Amarasuriya is the third woman to hold the post and the first woman Prime Minister since 1994. She also handles the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education. Before her, Dinesh Gunawardena held the office from July 2022 to September 2024, and Ranil Wickremesinghe had a short stint in 2022 before he became President. The list below covers every Prime Minister of Sri Lanka with their tenure.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| List name | Sri Lanka Prime Ministers List |
| Country | Sri Lanka (Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka) |
| Position created | 1947 |
| Total Prime Ministers so far | 16 |
| Current Prime Minister | Harini Amarasuriya (since 24 September 2024) |
| Current President | Anura Kumara Dissanayake |
| Official Cabinet list | cabinetoffice.gov.lk |
Tenures below are listed in order, starting from the first Prime Minister in 1947 up to the person holding the post now. A few leaders served more than once, so their names appear again with the new dates.
| Name | Tenure |
|---|---|
| Don Stephen Senanayake | September 24, 1947 to March 22, 1952 |
| Dudley Senanayake | March 26, 1952 to October 12, 1953 |
| Sir John Kotelawala | October 12, 1953 to April 12, 1956 |
| Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike | April 12, 1956 to September 26, 1959 |
| Wijeyananda Dahanayake | September 26, 1959 to March 20, 1960 |
| Dudley Senanayake | March 21, 1960 to July 21, 1960 |
| Sirimavo Bandaranaike | July 21, 1960 to March 25, 1965 |
| Dudley Senanayake | March 25, 1965 to May 29, 1970 |
| Sirimavo Bandaranaike | May 29, 1970 to July 23, 1977 |
| Junius Richard Jayewardene | July 23, 1977 to February 4, 1978 |
| Ranasinghe Premadasa | February 6, 1978 to January 2, 1989 |
| Dingiri Banda Wijetunga | March 6, 1989 to May 7, 1993 |
| Ranil Wickremesinghe | May 7, 1993 to August 19, 1994 |
| Chandrika Kumaratunga | August 19, 1994 to November 12, 1994 |
| Sirimavo Bandaranaike | November 14, 1994 to August 9, 2000 |
| Ratnasiri Wickremanayake | August 10, 2000 to December 7, 2001 |
| Ranil Wickremesinghe | December 9, 2001 to April 6, 2004 |
| Mahinda Rajapaksa | April 6, 2004 to November 19, 2005 |
| Ratnasiri Wickremanayake | November 19, 2005 to April 21, 2010 |
| D M Jayaratne | April 21, 2010 to January 9, 2015 |
| Ranil Wickremesinghe | January 9, 2015 to October 26, 2018 |
| Mahinda Rajapaksa | October 26, 2018 to December 15, 2018 |
| Ranil Wickremesinghe | December 16, 2018 to November 21, 2019 |
| Mahinda Rajapaksa | November 21, 2019 to May 9, 2022 |
| Ranil Wickremesinghe | May 12, 2022 to July 20, 2022 |
| Dinesh Gunawardena | July 22, 2022 to September 23, 2024 |
| Harini Amarasuriya | September 24, 2024 to present (incumbent) |
Living Former Prime Ministers List 2026
Four former Prime Ministers of Sri Lanka are alive as of September 2026. Their names, terms and dates of birth are given below.
| Prime Minister | Term of Office | Date of Birth |
|---|---|---|
| Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga | 1994 | 29/06/1945 |
| Mahinda Rajapaksa | 2004 - 2005, 2018, 2019 - 2022 | 18/11/1945 |
| Dinesh Gunawardena | 2022 - 2024 | 02/03/1949 |
| Ranil Wickremesinghe | 1993 - 1994, 2001 - 2004, 2015 - 2018, 2018 - 2019, 2022 | 24/03/1949 |
Sri Lanka Cabinet Ministers List 2026
Office of the Cabinet of Ministers publishes the updated Cabinet Ministers list of Sri Lanka on its official website. The current Cabinet works under President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who also holds the Defence, Finance and Digital Economy portfolios. Names of the ministers and the ministries they handle are given below.
| Cabinet Minister | Ministry |
|---|---|
| Anura Kumara Dissanayake | Defence; Finance, Planning and Economic Development; Digital Economy |
| Harini Amarasuriya | Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education |
| Vijitha Herath | Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism |
| K.D. Lal Kantha | Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation |
| Bimal Rathnayaka | Transport, Highways and Urban Development |
| Sunil Handunneththi | Industry and Entrepreneurship Development |
| Ramalingam Chandrasekar | Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources |
| Anil Jayantha Fernando | Labour |
| Samantha Viddyarathna | Plantation and Community Infrastructure |
| Anura Karunathilaka | Ports and Civil Aviation; Energy |
| Nalinda Jayatissa | Health and Mass Media |
| A.H.M.H. Abayarathna | Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government |
| Wasantha Samarasinghe | Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development |
| Harshana Nanayakkara | Justice and National Integration |
| Saroja Savithri Paulraj | Women and Child Affairs |
| Upali Pannilage | Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment |
| K.M. Ananda Wijepala | Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs |
| Hiniduma Sunil Senevi | Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs |
| Sunil Kumara Gamage | Youth Affairs and Sports |
| Chrishantha Abeysena | Science and Technology |
| Dammika Patabendi | Environment |
| Susil Ranasinghe | Housing, Construction and Water Supply |
How to Check Sri Lanka Cabinet Ministers List Online
Cabinet list keeps changing whenever ministers are added or their portfolios are shuffled. So it is better to check the official page instead of relying on a saved copy. The steps are easy and take only a few minutes.
STEP 1 - Open the official Cabinet Office website at Office of the Cabinet of Ministers, Sri Lanka in your browser.
STEP 2 - Go to the Cabinet section on the page and look for the heading 'LIST OF CABINET MINISTERS'. The full list of ministers opens on the same page, with the ministry written under each name.
STEP 3 - Check the name and the ministry you need. For the Prime Minister's profile and the current office details, the Prime Minister's Office website at pmoffice.gov.lk carries the updated information.
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