Dominion of Ceylon
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The Dominion of Ceylon, officially Ceylon, was an independent country in the Commonwealth of Nations from 1948 to 1972, that shared a monarch with other dominions of the Commonwealth. In 1948, the Bri
The Earl of Caithness inspecting a guard unit, 1950
William Gopallawa
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William Gopallawa was a Sri Lankan politician and statesman who served as the last Governor-General of Ceylon from 1962 to 1972. That year, Ceylon became a republic, and changed its name to Sri Lanka;
Dominion of Ceylon
…British, Soviet, and Indian aid in 1972. That same year, the country officially became a republic within the Commonwealth and was renamed Sri Lanka, with William Gopallawa serving as its first president. The constitution of Ceylon created a parliamentary democracy with a bicameral legislature consisting of a Senate and a…
Gopallawa in 1961
Ambassador William Gopallawa meets with President of the United States John F. Kennedy in the Oval Office of the White House, 7 September 1961
President William Gopallawa and First Lady Seela Gopallawa with Diyawadana Nilame Dr. Nissanka Wijeyeratne at the Sri Dalada Maligawa, Kandy