1.
Emblem of Sri Lanka
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The national emblem of Sri Lanka is used by the State of Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan government in connection with the administration and government of the country. The current emblem has been in use since 1972, the emblem features a gold lion passant, holding a sword in its right fore paw in the centre on a maroon background surrounded by golden petals of a Blue Lotus the national flower of the country. This is placed on top of a traditional grain vase that sprouts sheaves of rice grains that circle the border reflecting prosperity, the crest is the Dharmachakra, symbolizing the countrys foremost place for Buddhism and just rule. Traditional Sinhalese heraldic symbols for the sun and the form the supporters. Sun and Moon, and Lion depicting Lord Buddha is given less prominence than cart wheel of English Buddhism, the Portuguese had a coat of arms for their occupied territory in Sri Lanka, around 1505–1658. It has an Elephant in the foreground with palm trees around it and it is not known when the coat of arms for the Dutch occupied territory of Sri Lanka was adopted. The coat of arms is from a manuscript dating from 1717 to 1720, the arms is very similar to the previous Portuguese one with a modified design. It show the geography of the island mountains and palm trees, with an elephant and cinnamon bales. The elephant is used because it is a used for work on the island. In front of the elephant are three bales of cinnamon, used for it was the export product at the time. Before independence, Ceylon used the coat of arms of the United Kingdom as the imperial emblem and this contained a Sri Lankan Elephant and Coconut trees and later a stupa. When Ceylon was granted independence from Britain as a dominion in 1948, a committee was named in order to create a national emblem. According to its recommendation a national emblem was adopted in 1954, the island had been a British Crown Colony since 1802. The emblem was not strictly in the tradition, however was granted by the College of Arms in 1954. It was derived from the Royal Banner of the Kandyan Kingdom and it largely reflected the Buddhist traditions of the Sinhalese people. At its center had a disk with a lion passant holding a sword in its right fore paw. Around it were the golden petals of a lily and topped with the crown ensigning the roundel is called the Ceylon crown. The crown apparently symbolised Queen Elizabeth as Head of State of Ceylon, the present emblem of was created in 1972 with the ideas and guidance of Nissanka Wijeyeratne
2.
Karu Jayasuriya
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Deshabandu Karu Jayasuriya is a Sri Lankan politician who has been Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka since 2015. He served as Chairman of the Leadership Council of the United National Party and he is a Member of Parliament representing the Gampaha District. He received his education at Ananda College, Colombo. Under President Ranasinghe Premadasas government, Karu Jayasuriya was appointed as Sri Lankas Ambassador to Germany, as Speaker of Parliament, he also acts as Chairman of the Constitutional Council. Jayasuriya served as a officer of the Sri Lanka Army from 1965 to 1972. A businessman by profession, he was thrust into active politics in 1996 when he became party chairman at the request of UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, in 1997, he was elected Mayor of Colombo by a large majority. Following his efficient administration of the countrys most populous city, the party nominated him to be Chief Ministerial candidate of the Western Province and he became the opposition leader of that province. At that election, he created a new precedent by refusing to publish posters, saying it promoted violence, at the General Elections of 2000, he was elected to Parliament from the Gampaha District with a large number of preferential votes even though his party was defeated. After his remarkable showing, he was elected Deputy Leader of the UNP, following the victory of the UNP at the General Elections in 2001, Karu Jayasuriya was appointed Minister of Power and Energy. Having inherited a ministry he ensured a continued power supply. With President Chandrika Kumaratungas abrupt dissolution of parliament in April 2004, at the Presidential Elections of 2005, in which Wickremesinghe was the partys candidate, Jayasuriya was named as the nominee for the premiership in the event of the partys success. As an unofficial running mate, he traveled widely, actively campaigning for his leader, Wickremesinghe narrowly lost the election and following his defeat there were requests by a section of the party for the leadership to be handed over to Jayasuriya. In the meantime, Wickremesinghe and Rajapakse signed a Memorandum of Understanding pledging to co-operate on the peace process, Jayasuriya and his supporters insisted on taking a step further and joining the government formally by accepting ministerial office, which was strongly opposed by Wickremesinghe. The ensuing power struggle, resulted in a bitter and acrimonious war of attrition between the two, in the 2007 cabinet reshuffle after the crossover, he was appointed as Minister of Public Administration and Home Affairs. He resigned from his Public Administration and Home Affairs portfolio on 9 December 2008, in January 2015, President Maithripala Sirisena appointed Jayasuriya as Minister of Public Administration, Democratic Rule and Buddha Sasana after his victory in the presidential election. At the first session of the 8th Parliament, he was elected as Speaker on 1 September 2015 and his name was proposed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe and seconded by Nimal Siripala De Silva. Thilanga Sumathipala was elected as his deputy, Jayasuriya was awarded the The Order of the Rising Sun, the highest order awarded by the Japanese government in 2016. Jayasuriya missed the ceremony in Japan due to his daughters death but was later awarded in Colombo
3.
Official residence
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An official residence is the residence at which a nations head of state, head of government, governor or other senior figure officially resides. It may or may not be the location where the individual conducts work-related functions or lives. This has occurred in the 21st century in Detroit and New York City, in the case of Denver, no mayor has ever lived in the official residence, the city instead makes it available to certain non-profit groups for special functions. The President uses own private residence, - Its address is 1 Cheongwadae-ro, Jongro-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea. It is located next to Gyeongbokgung, the palace during the Joseon Dynasty. Cheong Nam Dae - Cheong Nam Dae used to be one of the two residences for the President of Republic of Korea. It was returned to public in 2003, - It is located in Cheongwon-gun, North Chungcheong Province. Cheong Hae Dae - Cheong Hae Dae used to be one of the two residences for the President of Republic of Korea. Although the president no longer uses this facility this compound is still under the administration of the Republic of Korea Navy, - It is located on one of the islands of Geoje-shi, South Gyeongsang Province. Chongri Gonggwan - This is the residence for the Prime Minister of Republic of Korea. The Prime Minister, however, does not work here, - Its address is 111-2 Samcheongdong-gil, Jongro-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea. It is located close to Cheong Wa Dae, gukhoeuijang Gonggwan - This is the official residence for the Speaker of the National Assembly of Republic of Korea. The Speaker, also, does not work here, - It is located in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, where many foreign missions to Korea are located. Daebeobwonjang Gonggwan - This is the residence for the Chief Justice of Republic of Korea. The Chief Justice, also, does not work here, - It is also located in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Most ministers of state and heads of administrative regions also have official residences, although they are not listed here. S
4.
Speaker's Residence, Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte
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The Speakers Residence is the official residence of the Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, located in Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte, Sri Lanka. The current residence was built in 2000 in close proximity to the Parliament Complex, the first official residence of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mumtaz Mahal, Colombo was located at Kollupitiya, a suburb of Colombo. However once the Parliament was moved to the new Parliament Complex in Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte, however this move was delayed by almost twenty years
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Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
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Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte or Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the official capital of Sri Lanka. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is within the area of, and a satellite city of. The village of Darugama lay at the confluence of two streams, the Diyawanna Oya and the Kolonnawa Oya, as Darugama was a naturally secure place, it was not easy for enemies to enter it. Here, in the 13th century, a chieftain named Nissanka Alagakkonara built a fortress called Kotte, Alagakkonara is mentioned by Ibn Batuta as ruling in Kurunegala, but other sources indicate that he was the Bandara of Raigama Korale in the modern Kalutara District. Arya Chakravarthys army was held by Alagakkonara in front of Kotte, Kotte was a jala durgha, in the shape of a triangle, with the Diyawanna Oya and Kolonnawa Oya marshes forming two long sides, along the shorter third side a large moat was dug. The fortress was nearly 2.5 km² in area, fortified with ramparts of kabook or laterite rock,2.5 m high and 10.7 m in breadth. In 1391, following the conquest of the Jaffna Kingdom by Prince Sapumal and it became the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Kotte, which it remained until the end of the 16th century. From the ramparts to the magnificent three storied buildings that housed the Kings Palace, Laterite and clay were the raw material used in its construction. One of the places from which the blocks were mined. The main features of the city were - The Kings palace, with walls of quartz that sparkle in the moonlight. The three-storeyed Dalada Maligawa with Buddhas sacred tooth relic in it The five-storeyed Arama where sixty Buddhist Bhikkus resided, the Kings Treasure House The Kotavehara at Baddagana, the only Buddhist temple of the city outside the moat and rampart. The Royal cemetery at Beddagana The Angampitiya, the military parade, the Portuguese arrived on the island in 1505 and were initially welcomed by the king. But they had militaristic and monopolistic intentions and gained control of the city by 1565, failing to withstand repeated assaults by the forces of the neighbouring kingdom of Sitawaka, the city was abandoned by the Portuguese, who made Colombo their new capital. Like similar cities of that era, Sri Jayawardhanapura was built with security in mind, a rampart and moat protected the entire city. Traces of this moat and rampart are visible today at certain places. Along parts of the rampart, encroachers have now built houses, garages, the urbanisation of Kotte restarted in the 19th century. The archaeological remains were torn up and used as building materials — some of it ending up in the Victoria Bridge. The New Parliament was inaugurated on 29 April 1982, the buildings were built on reclaimed land, after a massive lake was formed by dredging the marshlands around the Diyawanna Oya
6.
Parliament of Sri Lanka
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The Parliament of Sri Lanka is the 225-member unicameral legislature of Sri Lanka. The members of Parliament are elected by proportional representation for five-year terms, Parliament reserves the power to make all laws. It is modeled after the British Parliament, the Speaker or, in his absence the Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees or the Deputy Chairman of Committees, presides over Parliament. The nations President has the power to summon, suspend, prorogue, or terminate a legislative session, of the 225 members,196 are elected from 22 electoral districts, which are multi-member. The remaining 29 MPs are elected from National Lists allocated to the parties in proportion to their share of the national vote, at first it was made up of only British officials but later included native citizens. At the beginning 16, and later 49, members were elected for the Legislative Council, but a limited number of people were qualified to vote. It was based on the Westminster model with a house, the Senate, whose members were appointed and a lower house of parliament. The Senate was abolished on 2 October 1971, on 22 May 1972 when the republican constitution was enacted, the House of Representatives was replaced with the National State Assembly which had 168 elected members. This itself was replaced by the Parliament of Sri Lanka when the constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka was enacted in 1977, in 1987, a grenade was lobbed into a conference room inside the Parliament complex where government MPs were meeting. Two people were killed and sixteen injured, but the target of the attack, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna claimed responsibility for the attack. The Presidential Secretariat announced that the Government will be functioning as joint government comprising two major parties, until 1972, the post was known as Clerk of Parliament. Currently, the Secretary Generals administration is divided into eight departments, the Staff Advisory Committee established under the Parliamentary Staff Act provides advice and guidance to the Parliamentary Secretariat with respect to matters concerning Parliamentary staff. The SAC consists of the Speaker, the Leader of the House, the Minister of Finance and the Leader of the Opposition. On January 29,1930 the British Governor of Ceylon, Sir Herbert Stanley, opened a building fronting the ocean at Galle Face, Colombo and it was subsequently used by the State Council, the House of Representatives, the National State Assembly and the Parliament of Sri Lanka. Today the Old Parliament Building is used by the Presidential Secretariat, in 1967 under Speaker Albert F. The island was where the palace of the King Vikramabahu IIIs powerful Minister Nissaka Alakesvara had been situated and it had belonged to E. W. Perera prior to being vested in the state. The building was designed by architect Deshamanya Geoffrey Bawa and built with Sri Lankan funds, on April 29,1982, the new Parliamentary Complex was declared open by President J. R. Jayewardene. Committee On Public Enterprises Politics of Sri Lanka List of legislatures by country Official website
7.
Constitution of Sri Lanka
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As of May 2015 it has been formally amended 19 times. Under the Soulbury Constitution which consisted of The Ceylon Independence Act,1947 and The Ceylon Orders in Council 1947, the Soulbury Constitution provided a parliamentary form of Government for Ceylon and for a Judicial Service Commission and a Public Service Commission. Minority rights were safeguarded by Article 29 of the Constitution, the Governor-General, the Senate and the House of Representatives exercised legislative power. The House of Representatives consisted of 101 Members, of which 95 were elected by universal suffrage and 6 were nominated by the Governor-General. That total number was increased to 151 by the 1959 Delimitation Commission, a similar attempt by the Dudley Senanayake Government was failed due to such a propegation on 22 June 1968 too. The Senate consisted of 30 Members was abolished on 2 October 1971,4 of 1959 on 06.02.1959 to appoint a Delimitation Commission, to amend section 47 regarding delegation of power to Parliamentary Secretaries and to repeal Act Nos.35 &36 of 1954. 71 of 1961 on 30.12.1961 to include Election judge under section 55,8 of 1964 on 12.03.1964 to place the post of Commissioner of Elections in the Constitution and to make financial provision to conduct elections. 29 of 1970 on 18.11.1970 to permit public officers to contest elections,36 of 1971 on 02.10.1971 to abolish the Senate. Republican Constitution Sirimavo Bandaranaike came to office as the worlds first Woman Prime Minister in May 1970 and her United Front Government used the parliament as a Constituent Assembly and drafted a new Republican Constitution. It was promulgated on 22 May 1972 and this Constitution provided for a unicameral legislature named the National State Assembly with a term of office of 6 years and Sovereignty was entirely vested in it. A nominal President with a term of office of 4 years was appointed as the Head of State by the Prime Minister, Ceylon was replaced by republic of Sri Lanka. Before the 1977 general election the UNP had sought a mandate from the people to adopt a new constitution, accordingly a select committee was appointed to consider the revision of the existing Constitution. The new Constitution, promulgated on 7 September 1978, provided for a unicameral parliament, the term of office of the president and the duration of parliament were both set at six years. The new Constitution also introduced a form of proportional representation for elections to parliament. The Constitution also provided for a Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration who could investigate public grievances against government institutions and state officers and it also introduced anti-defection laws, and referendums on certain bills and on issues of national importance. Most provisions of the Constitution of Sri Lanka can be amended by a majority in parliament. Website of the Parliament of Sri Lanka — Constitution Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka with Amendments incorporated up to the 19th Amendment
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State Council of Ceylon
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The State Council of Ceylon was the unicameral legislature for Ceylon, established in 1931 by the Donoughmore Constitution. The State Council gave universal adult franchise to the people of the colony for the first time and it replaced the Legislative Council of Ceylon, the colonys original legislative body. There were only two State Councils, the First, elected in 1931, and the Second, elected in 1936, due to Ceylonese demands for constitutional reform, a royal commission was established by the British authorities under the chairmanship of the Earl of Donoughmore. The Donoughmore Commission arrived in the colony in 1927, before returning to the United Kingdom where it issued its report, the structure and working of the State Council was experimental, and was based in part on the United Kingdoms London County Council. The State Council functioned in both an executive and legislative capacity, with seven committees performing executive duties, each committee consisted of designated members of the State Council, and was chaired by an elected Ceylonese who was addressed as minister. The Ceylonese ministers formed a board of ministers with three British officials of rank who handled defence, external affairs, finance, and judicial matters. Based on the report by the Soulbury Commission, a new constitution was created, by which the State Council was replaced by a Parliament, negotiations with Ceylons newly elected government resulted in the British granting Ceylon independence as a dominion in 1948. The State Council consisted of 58 members, of whom 50 would be elected by universal suffrage, G. N. Farquhar, MC, CCS V. Coomaraswamy, CCS E. W. Kannangara, CCS D. C. R. Gunawardana, CCS R. St. L. P. Deraniyagala, CBE Rajasingham, K. T, chapter 6, Donoughmore – Tamils no more. Chapter 7, State Councils – elections and boycotts, chapter 8, Pan Sinhalese board of ministers – A Sinhalese ploy
