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
5.
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
8.
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
9.
Sri Lankan rupee
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The rupee is the currency of Sri Lanka, divided into 100 cents. It is issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, the abbreviation is generally Rs. but SLRs. is occasionally used to distinguish it from other currencies also called rupee. The British pound became Ceylons official money of account in 1825, replacing the Ceylonese rixdollar at a rate of 1 pound = 13 1⁄3 rixdollars, Treasury notes denominated in pounds were issued in 1827, replacing the earlier rixdollar notes. Rixdollar notes not presented for exchange were demonetized in June 1831, the Indian rupee was made Ceylons standard coin on 26 September 1836, and Ceylon reverted to the Indian currency area. Pound-denominated treasury notes continued to circulate after 1836, along with the rupee, the legal currency remained British silver and accounts were kept in pounds, shillings and pence. However, payments were made in rupees and annas at the par of 2 shillings per rupee. The Bank of Ceylon was the first private bank to issue banknotes on the island, the Indian rupee was formally established as the unlimited legal tender 18 June 1869. The rupee was decimalized 23 August 1871, thus, the rupee of 100 cents became Ceylons money of account and sole legal tender effective 1 January 1872, replacing British currency at a rate of 1 rupee =2 shillings 3 pence. In 1872, copper 1⁄4, 1⁄2,1 and 5 cents coins dated 1870 were introduced, followed in 1892 by silver 10,25 and 50 cents, production of the 1⁄4 cent ceased in 1904. The large, copper 5 cents coin was replaced in 1909 by a much smaller cupro-nickel coin which was square with rounded corners, in 1919, the fineness of silver used was reduced from.800 to.550. Between 1940 and 1944, a change in the coinage was carried out. Production of the 1⁄2 cent ceased in 1940, with bronze 1 cent introduced in 1942 with reduced weight, nickel-brass replaced cupro-nickel in the 5 cents in the same year and replaced silver in the 25 and 50 cents in 1943. In 1944, nickel-brass, scalloped shaped 2 and 10 cents coins were introduced, the scalloped 10 cents coin replaced the silver 10 cents coin. Later 2 cent coins issued in 1957 were the coins from this period to ever depict Queen Elizabeth II. Coins with the portrait of King George VI continued to be issued despite his death, in 1957, cupro-nickel 1 rupee coins and.925 silver 5 rupee coins commemorating 2500 years of Buddhism were issued. In 1963, a new coinage was introduced which omitted the British monarchs portrait, coins issued were aluminium 1 and 2 cents, nickel brass 5 and 10 cents and cupro-nickel 25 and 50 cents and 1 rupee. These coins had the shapes and sizes of the previous series but were composed of different materials. In 1976, commemorative seven-sided 2 rupee and ten-sided 5 rupee coins were introduced in limited numbers, in 1978, devaluation prompted aluminum to be the replacement of nickel-brass in the 5 and 10 cents, while shortly after 1 and 2 cents were discontinued
10.
Sri Lanka
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Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia near south-east India. Sri Lanka has maritime borders with India to the northwest and the Maldives to the southwest, Sri Lankas documented history spans 3,000 years, with evidence of pre-historic human settlements dating back to at least 125,000 years. Its geographic location and deep harbours made it of strategic importance from the time of the ancient Silk Road through to World War II. Sri Lanka was known from the beginning of British colonial rule until 1972 as Ceylon, Sri Lankas recent history has been marred by a thirty-year civil war which decisively ended when the Sri Lankan military defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009. A diverse and multicultural country, Sri Lanka is home to many religions, ethnic groups, in addition to the majority Sinhalese, it is home to large groups of Sri Lankan and Indian Tamils, Moors, Burghers, Malays, Kaffirs and the aboriginal Vedda. Sri Lanka has a rich Buddhist heritage, and the first known Buddhist writings of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka is a republic and a unitary state governed by a semi-presidential system. The legislative capital, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, is a suburb of the capital and largest city. Along with the Maldives, Sri Lanka is one of the two countries in South Asia that are rated among high human development on the Human Development Index. In antiquity, Sri Lanka was known to travellers by a variety of names, according to the Mahavamsa, the legendary Prince Vijaya named the land Tambapanni, because his followers hands were reddened by the red soil of the area. In Hindu mythology, such as the Mahabharata, the island was referred to as Lankā, in Tamil, the island is referred to as Eelam. Ancient Greek geographers called it Taprobanā or Taprobanē from the word Tambapanni, as a British crown colony, the island was known as Ceylon, it achieved independence as the Dominion of Ceylon in 1948. The country is known in Sinhalese as Śrī Laṃkā and in Tamil as Ilaṅkai, in 1972, its formal name was changed to Free, Sovereign and Independent Republic of Sri Lanka. Later in 1978 it was changed to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, as the name Ceylon still appears in the names of a number of organisations, the Sri Lankan government announced in 2011 a plan to rename all those over which it has authority. The pre-history of Sri Lanka goes back 125,000 years, the era spans the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and early Iron Ages. Among the Paleolithic human settlements discovered in Sri Lanka, Pahiyangala and it is said that Kubera was overthrown by his demon stepbrother Ravana, the powerful emperor who built a mythical flying machine named Dandu Monara. The modern city of Wariyapola is described as Ravanas airport, early inhabitants of Sri Lanka were probably ancestors of the Vedda people, an indigenous people numbering approximately 2,500 living in modern-day Sri Lanka. According to the Mahāvamsa, a written in Pāḷi, the original inhabitants of Sri Lanka are the Yakshas and Nagas. Ancient cemeteries that were used before 600BC and other signs of advanced civilization has also discovered in Sri Lanka
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Politics of Sri Lanka
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Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament, for decades, the party system has been dominated by the socialist Sri Lanka Freedom Party and the conservative United National Party. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature, the President, directly elected for a five-year term, is head of state, head of government, and commander in chief of the armed forces. The election occurs under the Sri Lankan form of the contingent vote, the President appoints and heads a cabinet of ministers responsible to Parliament. The Presidents deputy is the minister, who leads the ruling party in Parliament. A parliamentary no-confidence vote requires dissolution of the cabinet and the appointment of a new one by the President, the Parliament has 225 members, elected for a five-year term,196 members elected in multi-seat constituencies and 29 by proportional representation. The primary modification is that the party receives the largest number of valid votes in each constituency gains a unique bonus seat. The president may summon, suspend, or end a legislative session, Parliament reserves the power to make all laws. Since its independence in 1948, Sri Lanka has remained a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, in August 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that Presidential Elections would be held in November 2005, resolving a long-running dispute on the length of President Kumaratungas term. Mahinda Rajapaksa was nominated the SLFP candidate and former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe UNP candidate. The Election was held on November 17,2005, and Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected the fifth Executive President of Sri Lanka with a 50. 29% of valid votes, Mahinda Rajapaksa took oath as President on November 19,2005. Ratnasiri Wickremanayake was appointed the 22nd Prime Minister on November 21,2005 and he was previously Prime Minister in 2000. Local government is divided into two structures, the civil service, which dates to colonial times, and the provincial councils. The country is divided into 25 districts, each of which has a secretary who is appointed. Each district comprises 5–16 divisions, each with a DS, or divisional secretary, again, at a village level Grama Niladari, Samurdhi Niladari and agriculture extension officers work for the DSs. Under the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord of July 1987—and the resulting 13th amendment to the constitution—the Government of Sri Lanka agreed to devolve authority to the provinces. Provincial councils are elected for 5-year terms. The leader of the council majority serves as the provinces Chief Minister with a board of ministers, the Provincial Councils have full statute making power with respect to the Provincial Council List, and shared statute making power respect to the Concurrent List
12.
Law of Sri Lanka
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Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament, for decades, the party system has been dominated by the socialist Sri Lanka Freedom Party and the conservative United National Party. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature, the President, directly elected for a five-year term, is head of state, head of government, and commander in chief of the armed forces. The election occurs under the Sri Lankan form of the contingent vote, the President appoints and heads a cabinet of ministers responsible to Parliament. The Presidents deputy is the minister, who leads the ruling party in Parliament. A parliamentary no-confidence vote requires dissolution of the cabinet and the appointment of a new one by the President, the Parliament has 225 members, elected for a five-year term,196 members elected in multi-seat constituencies and 29 by proportional representation. The primary modification is that the party receives the largest number of valid votes in each constituency gains a unique bonus seat. The president may summon, suspend, or end a legislative session, Parliament reserves the power to make all laws. Since its independence in 1948, Sri Lanka has remained a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, in August 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that Presidential Elections would be held in November 2005, resolving a long-running dispute on the length of President Kumaratungas term. Mahinda Rajapaksa was nominated the SLFP candidate and former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe UNP candidate. The Election was held on November 17,2005, and Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected the fifth Executive President of Sri Lanka with a 50. 29% of valid votes, Mahinda Rajapaksa took oath as President on November 19,2005. Ratnasiri Wickremanayake was appointed the 22nd Prime Minister on November 21,2005 and he was previously Prime Minister in 2000. Local government is divided into two structures, the civil service, which dates to colonial times, and the provincial councils. The country is divided into 25 districts, each of which has a secretary who is appointed. Each district comprises 5–16 divisions, each with a DS, or divisional secretary, again, at a village level Grama Niladari, Samurdhi Niladari and agriculture extension officers work for the DSs. Under the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord of July 1987—and the resulting 13th amendment to the constitution—the Government of Sri Lanka agreed to devolve authority to the provinces. Provincial councils are elected for 5-year terms. The leader of the council majority serves as the provinces Chief Minister with a board of ministers, the Provincial Councils have full statute making power with respect to the Provincial Council List, and shared statute making power respect to the Concurrent List
13.
Government of Sri Lanka
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The Government of Sri Lanka is a semi-presidential system determined by the Sri Lankan Constitution. The Constitution of Sri Lanka has been the constitution of the nation of Sri Lanka since its original promulgation by the National State Assembly on 7 September 1978. It is Sri Lankas second republican constitution, and its constitution since the countrys independence in 1948. As of April 2015 it has been formally amended 19 times, the President, directly elected for a five-year term, is head of state, head of government, and commander in chief of the armed forces. The election occurs under the Sri Lankan form of the contingent vote, the President appoints and heads a cabinet of ministers responsible to Parliament. The Presidents deputy is the minister, who leads the ruling party in Parliament. A parliamentary no-confidence vote requires dissolution of the cabinet and the appointment of a new one by the President, Sri Lanka elects on national level a head of state - the president - and a legislature. The president is elected for a term by the people. The Parliament has 225 members, elected for a term,196 members elected in multi-seat constituencies and 29 by proportional representation. The President may summon, suspend, or end a legislative session, Parliament reserves the power to make all laws. The primary modification is that the party receives the largest number of valid votes in each constituency gains a unique bonus seat. Since its independence in 1948, Sri Lanka has remained a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the country. It is set out in the constitution, which defines courts as independent institutions within the framework of checks. Sri Lanka has a system which is an amalgam of English common law, Roman-Dutch civil law
14.
President of Sri Lanka
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The President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the elected head of state and head of government of Sri Lanka. The President leads the executive branch of the Sri Lankan government and is the commander-in-chief of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces, the office was created in 1972 and the president remains the single most dominant political office in the country. The current President is Maithripala Sirisena, at independence, executive power in Ceylon resided with the monarch, represented by the Governor-General, which was exercised on the advice of the Prime Minister. The 1972 constitution removed the monarch and replaced the governor-general with a president, the 1978 constitution moved from a Westminster-based political system into one modeled on France. As in France, a new, directly elected President with a longer term, in practice, the Sri Lankan presidency was much more powerful than the President of France. French presidents traditionally deal only with defense and foreign policy, leaving domestic affairs to the Prime Minister, the Nineteenth Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution implemented restrictions on the powers of the presidency. It limited the presidency to two, five year terms, the amendment mandates that the president consult the prime minister on ministerial appointments. It curtails any president’s immunity by making him liable to fundamental rights litigation on any official act, Presidents have little constraints on their power and they cannot be taken to court. However they can be impeached by a majority in Parliament. They can place the country in a state of emergency, under which they can override any law passed, however, to prolong the state of emergency for more than a month parliamentary approval is needed. At the opening of Parliament, the President delivers a similar to a Speech from the Throne. The President has the power to appoint Attorneys-at-Laws to the position of Presidents Counsel, the official residence of the president is the Presidents House in Colombo. However the presidents office is the Presidential Secretariat which is at the former Parliament building in Colombo, where many formal functions takes place. In recent years from time to time Prime Ministers House, commonly referred to as Temple Trees, in 2015 President Sirisena refuse to use Presidents House or the Temple Trees and use his former ministerial residence at Wijayarama Mawatha. The Temple Trees was given back to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe which he uses for official work only, Presidents Security Division is the main unit of the charged with the close protection of the President of Sri Lanka. During Former President Mahinda Rajapakses era The specialized Army unit Presidents Guard was formed for Presidential Security
15.
Maithripala Sirisena
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Pallewatte Gamaralalage Maithripala Yapa Sirisena is a Sri Lankan politician who is the 7th and current President of Sri Lanka, since 2015. Although born in the Western Province, Sirisena hails from the North Central Province of the country and is the first president from that province and he is an agriculturist and does not belong to the Sri Lankan political elite. Sirisena joined mainstream politics in 1989 as a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka and has held several ministries since 1994 and their votes were more anti-Rajapaksa than pro-Sirisena. Sirisena was sworn in as the sixth Executive President before Supreme Court judge K. Sripavan in Independence Square, immediately afterwards he appointed Ranil Wickremesinghe as the new Prime Minister. After being sworn in Sirsena stated that he would serve one term. On 28 April 2015, Sirisena voluntarily transferred significant presidential powers to parliament, Maithripala Sirisena was born on 3 September 1951 in Yagoda, a village in present-day Gampaha District. He is the son of World War II veteran Albert Sirisena and his mother was a school teacher. He was educated at Thopawewa Maha Vidyalaya and Royal College, Polonnaruwa where he first developed, while still in school, as a teenager, Sirisena became interested in communism and joined the Communist Party becoming closely associated with party leader N. Shanmugathasan in party activities. In 1968 he took part in a communist party anti-government rally which was broken up by baton charging police, at the age of 17 years he was chosen as the secretary of the SLFP Youth Organisation in Polonnaruwa by the SLFP Member of Parliament for Polonnaruwa, Leelaratna Wijesingha. In 1971, aged 19, he was jailed for 15 months for alleged involvement in the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna Insurrection, following his release from prison, Sirisena joined All Ceylon SLFP Youth Organization led by Anura Bandaranaike and joined politics at the national level. After serving at a number of institutions, Sirisena obtained the SLFP membership in 1978. In 1974 Sirisena started working at the Palugasdamana Multi Purpose Cooperative Society as an office and in 1976 he became a grama niladhari. He rose up the SLFP ranks, joining its politburo in 1981, where he was chosen as the President of the All Island SLFP Youth Organisation, and also later served as Treasurer. During the 1981 Presidential poll, when Basil Rajapaksa joined the United National Party, subsequently, he was appointed the Polonnaruwa SLFP chief organiser by the SLFP hierarchy. He became president of the All Island SLFP Youth Organisation in 1983, Sirisena studied for three years at the Sri Lanka School of Agriculture, Kundasale from where he earned a diploma in agriculture in 1973. In 1980 he earned a Diploma in Political science at the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute in Russia, Sirisena contested the 1989 parliamentary election as one of the SLFPs candidates in Polonnaruwa District and was elected to the Parliament. He was re-elected at the 1994 parliamentary election, this time as a Peoples Alliance candidate, in 1997 he was appointed as the General Secretary of the SLFP for the first time, from which he later resigned. In August 2000 Sirisena tried to become general-secretary of the SLFP but was beaten by S. B, Sirisena was instead appointed one the Deputy Presidents of SLFP
16.
Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
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The Prime Minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the leader of the cabinet business in Sri Lanka. However, the President is both head of state and head of government in Sri Lanka, the post of Prime Minister of Ceylon was created in 1947 prior to independence from Britain and the formation of the Dominion of Ceylon in 1948. United National Party leader D. S. Senanayake became the first Prime Minister of Then Ceylon in 1947 after independence, in 1972 when Sri Lanka became a republic the name of the post changed to Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. With a Westminster-based political system established the Prime Minister was the head of government therefore held the most powerful office of the country at the time. This changed with a change in 1978, when the Executive Presidency was created. Until 1978 the Prime minister was also the Minister of Defence, the Prime Minister is appointed by the President as a member of the cabinet of ministers. In the event the post president is vacant, the Prime Minister becomes the president until Parliament convenes to elect a successor or new elections could be held to elect a new president. This was the case with H. E, united National Party leaders Dudley Senanayake and Ranil Wickramasinghe together with Sri Lanka Freedom Party leader Sirimavo Bandaranaike was appointed three times to the position. With passing of the 19th amendment to the constitution in 2015, the current Prime Minister of Sri Lanka is Ranil Wickremesinghe, he was appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena on 9 January 2015. This was the time that Wickramasinghe was appointed Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. The official residence of the minister is the Prime Ministers House most commonly referred to as Temple Trees. The Prime Ministers Office is located on Sir Ernest de Silva Mawatha in Colombo, President of Sri Lanka Prime Ministers Office Parliament of Sri Lanka - Handbook of Parliament, Prime Ministers
17.
Ranil Wickremesinghe
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He is also the leader of the United National Front, having been appointed head of the alliance in October 2009. Wickremesinghe also previously served as Prime Minister from 7 May 1993 to 19 August 1994 and 9 December 2001 to 6 April 2004 and he was appointed party leader in November 1994 following the assassination of Gamini Dissanayake during the campaign for the 1994 presidential election. On 8 January 2015, Wickremesinghe was appointed as Prime Minister by President Maithripala Sirisena, Wickremesinghes coalition alliance, the United National Front for Good Governance, won the 2015 parliamentary election with 106 seats. Although it fell short of a majority, Wickremesinghe was re-elected as Prime Minister with over 35 Sri Lanka Freedom Party members joining his cabinet. Born on 24 March 1949 in Colombo, Wickremasinghe is the son of Esmond Wickremesinghe. His father was an ex-Samasamajist lawyer who became a baron taking over the Lake House Group of newspapers from his wifes father D. R. Wijewardena. Wickremasinghe entered the Faculty of Law at the University of Ceylon, after graduation, he completed the law exams at the Sri Lanka Law College and took oaths as an advocate in 1972. During his term as deputy minister, he initiated the Sri Lanka National Guard and the National Youth Services Council, Wickremesinghe was later made the Minister of Education. Under the Presidency of Ranasinghe Premadasa, Wickremasinghe was appointed as the Minister of Industry, under which he initiated industrial reforms, Wickremesinghe had competition from his senior colleagues in the UNP, Lalith Athulathmudali and Gamini Dissanayake, who had been rivals of President Premadasa. He was appointed the Leader of the House in 1989, on 7 May 1993, Wickremesinghe was sworn in as Prime Minister after President Ranasinghe Premadasa was assassinated by the Tamil Tigers and Prime Minister D. B. During his term he was credited for pushing the country through an economic transformation and was generally backed by the business community. In the 1994 parliamentary elections, the UNP lost to Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratungas Peoples Alliance, Wickremasinghe was defeated in the race for Opposition Leader by two votes by fellow UNP member Gamini Dissanayake, who had re-joined the party. This gave Gamini Dissanayake the default leadership of the party and made him the nominee of the UNP. The UNP was progressing well under Gamini Dissanayakes leadership, when he too was assassinated by the Tamil Tigers, Gamini Dissanayakes widow, Srima replaced him as the candidate of the UNP in the 1994 election. Securing just 35% of the vote, she lost to Chandrika Kumaratunga in all electorates except Mahiyangana, afterwards, Wickremesinghe was appointed as the opposition leader as well as the UNP leader. Wickremasinghe was seen as an opposition leader who gave the government a chance to carry out its agenda in its early days. In the 1999 election, Wickremesinghe was nominated as UNPs Presidential candidate, in the election held two days later 21 December 1999 amidst a wave of sympathy, Kumaratunga received 51% of the popular vote to be re-elected as Executive President. The gap between Wickremesinghe and Kumaratunga was approximately 700,000 votes, Kumaratunga was sworn in for her second term as President on 22 December 1999
18.
Cabinet of Sri Lanka
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The Cabinet of Sri Lanka is the council of ministers that form the central government of Sri Lanka. It is responsible to and answerable to parliament, as of 6 April 2016 the cabinet had 47 members - president, prime minister and 45 ministers. There are also 20 state ministers and 25 deputy ministers who are not members of the cabinet, at its creation the Executive Council was headed by the Governor, along with five members appointed by the Governor. These five members were officials who held the posts of the Colonial Secretary, the Attorney General, the Auditor-General, the Treasurer, the Council exercised executive power and advised the governor. As a result of the First Manning Reforms three non-officials were elected to the executive council, with enactment of the new constitution of the Dominion of Ceylon in 1947 the Executive Council was replaced by a National Cabinet. The president is a member of and head of the cabinet, the president appoints as prime minister a Member of Parliament who has the confidence of parliament. Other ministers of the cabinet are appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister, the president may appoint himself to any ministry he chooses. According to the constitution the president must be the Minister of Defence, the President also appoints, in consultation with the Prime Minister, ministers who are not a member of the Cabinet. The cabinet meets several times a week to discuss vital issues, Cabinet Office List of female cabinet ministers of Sri Lanka Government Ministers. Policy Research & Information Unit, Presidential Secretariat, Sri Lanka, Office of the Cabinet of Ministers, Sri Lanka
19.
Sirisena cabinet
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The Sirisena cabinet is the 15th and incumbent central government of Sri Lanka led by President Maithripala Sirisena. It was formed in January 2015 after the presidential election, as of 6 April 2016 the cabinet had 47 members – president, prime minister and 45 ministers. There are also 20 state ministers and 25 deputy ministers who are not members of the cabinet, ministers appointed under article 44 of the constitution. Ministers appointed under article 45 of the constitution, ministers appointed under article 46 of the constitution
20.
Leader of the Opposition (Sri Lanka)
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The Leader of the Opposition in Sri Lanka is the politician who leads the main opposition party. This is the leader of the largest party not within the government, the post of Leader of the Opposition is a political office common in countries that are part of the Commonwealth of Nations. R. Sampanthan is the current opposition leader, since 3 September 2015 Those who have served as President or Prime Minister are indicated in italics, Parliament of Sri Lanka - Handbook of Parliament, Leaders of the Opposition President of Sri Lanka Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
21.
Judiciary of Sri Lanka
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The judiciary of Sri Lanka is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in Sri Lanka. It is set out in Constitution, which defines courts as independent institutions within the framework of checks. Sri Lanka has a system which is an amalgam of English common law, Roman-Dutch civil law. The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka is the highest judicial instance and it is composed of the Chief Justice and not less than six and not more than ten Puisne Justices. Judges are appointed by the President with the nomination of the Parliamentary Council, the Supreme Court is the final appellate Court and has jurisdiction in constitutional matters. The Court of Appeal hears all appeals from the High Court, the court is composed of the President of the Court and not less than six and not more than eleven other Judges. The High Court has jurisdiction in criminal matters, the district courts in civil matters. The Sri Lankan Government has stated that it has no intention of joining the International Criminal Court, Government of Sri Lanka Law of Sri Lanka Ministry of Justice
22.
Supreme Court of Sri Lanka
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The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka is the highest court of Sri Lanka. The Supreme Court is the highest and final instance of record and is empowered to exercise its powers. The Court has ultimate jurisdiction in constitutional matters, and take precedence over all lower Courts. The Sri Lanka judicial system is complex blend of both common-law and civil-law, in some cases such as capital punishment, the decision may be passed on to the President of the Republic for clemency petitions. This creation was repealed in 1833 and replaced by a new Charter covering the whole of the island, in 1972 the country gained its independence as Sri Lanka and adopted a new Constitution. The court consists of the Chief Justice and not less than six and not more than ten other Judges, the President of Sri Lanka is responsible for the appointment and removal of all the judges of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court judges are appointed with the advice and consent of the Constitutional Council, from 3 October 2001 until 2011, with the 17th Amendment, the Constitutional Council had the task of advising the President on the appointment of the judges. If the appointment is for a less than fourteen days. The Justices are not allowed to any other office without the consent of the Constitution or the President. In the discharge of its functions relating to the appointment of Judges of the Courts, Judges who hold office during good behaviour can serve until the retirement age for the judges fixed at 65 years, as per the Constitution. They cannot be removed except by an order of the President made after an address to the Parliament, the order has to be presented to the President for removal on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity. A judge of the Supreme Court can only be removed by Parliament, the 2015 indictment of Justice Sarath De Abrew is the first time that a sitting Supreme Court judge has been indicted on a criminal offense. The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka is housed in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka building, article 118 of the Constitution - the Supreme Court is the highest and final superior court of record and is empowered to exercise original advisory and appellate judicial functions. It is also the final Court of Record and the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka and it was proved right by the Impeachment of Shirani Bandaranayake. Bandaranayake was replaced as chief justice by former Attorney General Mohan Peiris, Peiris is considered to be an ally of President Rajapaksa and his appointment is seen by critics as further consolidation of power by the president and his family. Bandaranayake has refused to recognise the impeachment and lawyers groups have refused to work with the new chief justice, bandaranayakes controversial impeachment has drawn much criticism and concern from within and outside of Sri Lanka. Shirani Bandaranayake resumed office carrying a bouquet of flowers and being greeted by lawyers and it practically killed the 13th amendment. High Court of Sri Lanka Supreme Court of Sri Lanka website Database of Supreme Court decisions Ministry of Justice, Supreme Court of Sri Lanka
23.
Chief Justice of Sri Lanka
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The Chief Justice of Sri Lanka is the head of the judicial system of Sri Lanka and is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. The Chief Justice is one of ten Supreme Court justices, the nine are the Puisne Justices of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. The post was created in 1801, the Chief Justice is appointed by the President of Sri Lanka with the nomination of the Constitutional Council. The Chief Justice, The Justices of the Supreme Court and The Justices of the Court of Appeal are addressed as Your Lordship, the first Chief Justice was Codrington Edmund Carrington. The 45th and current Chief Justice is His Lordship Justice Priyasath Dep, the office of Chief Justice traces its origins back with the founding the Royal Charter of Justice of 1801 by the British. The charter required the Chief Justice and Puisne Justice to have not less than Five Years experience as Barristers, the post was first held by Codrington Edmund Carrington. 2013-2015 The Chief Justice Mohan Peiris PC was appointed on 15 January 2013 following the controversial Impeachment of Shirani Bandaranayake, Peiris was elevated by President Mahinda Rajapaksa with the approval of the Parliamentary Council. Peiris is considered to be an ally of President Rajapaksa and his appointment was seen by critics as further consolidation of power by the president, prior to his appointment he was Chairman of Seylan Bank, Senior Legal Officer to the Cabinet and held the post of Attorney General. Peiris was officially inaugurated as Chief Justice at a ceremony in the Supreme Court on 23 January 2013, the current Chief Justice is The Honourable Priyasath Dep the 45th Chief Justice. Appointment The appointment and removal of Judges of the Supreme Court is outlined in Chapter XV Article 107. of the Sri Lankan Constitution. It states that the Chief Justice and every other Judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President of the Republic by warrant under his hand, Judges of the Supreme Court shall hold office until the age of retirement of sixty-five years. Describes appointments of an acting Chief Justice or Judge of the Supreme Court, removal of office Judges of the Supreme Court shall hold office during good behaviour. Removal of a judge shall only proceed with an address of the Parliament supported by a majority of the number of Members of Parliament. Reasons for such removal should be on the grounds of proved misbehaviour or incapacity, the Chief Justice serves as Chairman of the Judicial Service Commission which consist two Judges of the Supreme Court appointed by the President of the Republic. Other duties of the Chief Justice include nominating judges, as may be necessary, every Judge shall be transferable by the Chief Justice. Data based on, A. Ranjit B
24.
Priyasath Dep
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Priyasath Dep PC is a Sri Lankan judge and lawyer and the 45 th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka. He was a judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. Prior to his appointment as Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka he was serving as Solicitor General of Sri Lanka, Dep obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Development Studies at the University of Colombo. He represented the university in rugby and cricket, Dep won a scholarship by the Dutch Government that enabled him to acquire a Post-Graduate Diploma in International Law at the International Institute of Social Studies in The Hague. He served as Solicitor General of Sri Lanka from 2007 to 2011 before being promoted to Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka
25.
Sri Lankan presidential election, 2015
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Presidential elections were held in Sri Lanka on 8 January 2015, two years ahead of schedule. The incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa was the United Peoples Freedom Alliances candidate, Sirisena was declared the winner after receiving 51. 28% of all votes cast compared to Rajapaksas 47. 58%. The result was seen as a shock. When Rajapaksa called the election in November 2014 he had looked certain to win, on 11 January 2015 the new government announced a special investigation into allegations of an attempted coup by Rajapaksa. 201420 October, Minister of Mass Media and Information Keheliya Rambukwella confirmed that the election would be held in January 2015,5 November, Rajapaksa sought the Supreme Courts opinion on whether he could stand for re-election. 20 November, Rajapaksa issued a proclamation calling for an election at which he would seek re-election. 21 November, Sri Lanka Freedom Party general secretary Maithripala Sirisena defects to the opposition, Election commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya announces that nominations would be taken on 8 December 2014 and that the election would be held on 8 January 2015. 8 December, Nominations period opens by the Elections Department on 8 December 2014, 23–24 December, Postal voting held begins for two days. Polling stations opened at 07,00 and closed at 16,00,9 January, Rajapaksa concedes defeat ahead of the final result 9 January, Around 8,06 Election commissioner confirmed Maithripala Sirisena as the new elected President. 9 January, Maithripala Sirsena is sworn in as Sri Lankas sixth executive president, according to the constitution, the normal term of office for a president is six years, although an incumbent serving a second term may call an election at any time after four years in office. In November 2009, buoyed by the defeat of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in May 2009. In the elections held in January 2010 Rajapaksa secured a second term in office, in February 2010 the Supreme Court ruled that Rajapaksas second term would begin in November 2010, and was accordingly sworn in on 19 November 2010. In early November 2014 Rajapaksa sought the Supreme Courts opinion on whether he could stand for re-election, the court ruled that Rajapaksa could stand for re-election. On 20 November 2014 Rajapaksa issued a proclamation calling for an election at which he would seek re-election. The following day election commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya announced that nominations would be taken on 8 December 2014,15,044,490 Sri Lankans were eligible to vote at the election. Postal voting was held on 23 and 24 December 2014, Foreign monitors were invited to observe the election but not from the United Nations. The Sri Lankan president is elected using a form of instant-runoff voting, there are 12,314 polling stations in the 22 electoral districts. Papal visit The election had caused uncertainty over the visit of Pope Francis to Sri Lanka
26.
Administrative divisions of Sri Lanka
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Sri Lanka is divided into 9 provinces, which are further subdivided into 25 districts. Districts are further subdivided into Municipalities, of which are sorted into three categories, each municipality is divided into Wards and wards into Grama Niladhari divisions. The country was first divided into administrative units during the Anuradhapura Kingdom. The kingdom was divided into three provinces, Rajarata, Ruhuna and Malaya Rata and these were further subdivided into smaller units called rata. Over time, the number of provinces increased, but the administrative division continued to be the rata. The territory of the Kotte Kingdom was organized into four disavas, the korales had their own civil and military officials with a small militia. The Jaffna kingdom appears to have had an administrative structure to this with four provinces. When the Portuguese took over parts of the country after their arrival in 1505, during the Dutch rule in the country, the terrain under their control was divided into three administrative divisions. These were subdivided into disavas as in earlier systems, the British initially continued this system, but following reforms in 1796 to 1802, the country was divided according to ethnic composition. This was abolished by the Colebrook–Cameron reforms in 1833 and a council was created. Five provinces were created, later expanded into nine, and these were subdivided into twenty-one districts and these districts were administered by officials known as Government Agents or Assistant Government Agents. In 1955, the replaced the province as the countrys main administrative unit. The last district to be created was Kilinochchi in February 1984, and these districts may be subdivided or amalgamated by a resolution of the Parliament of Sri Lanka. Provinces are first level divisions in Sri Lanka. They were first established by the British rulers of Ceylon in 1833, over the next century most of the administrative functions were transferred to the districts, the second level administrative division. By the middle of the 20th century the provinces had become merely ceremonial and this changed in 1987 when, following several decades of increasing demand for a decentralization, the 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. Districts are the administrative divisions. There are 25 districts organized into 9 provinces, each district is administered under a District Secretary, who is appointed by the central government
27.
Provinces of Sri Lanka
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In Sri Lanka, provinces are the first level administrative division. They were first established by the British rulers of Ceylon in 1833, over the next century most of the administrative functions were transferred to the districts, the second level administrative division. By the middle of the 20th century the provinces had become merely ceremonial and this changed in 1987 when, following several decades of increasing demand for a decentralization, the 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. After the British took control of the island of Ceylon in 1815 it was divided into three ethnic based administrative structures, Low Country Sinhalese, Kandyan Sinhalese and Tamil. In 1829 the British established the Colebrooke–Cameron Commission to review the government of Ceylon. The Commission recommended that the three ethnic based administrations be unified into a single administration divided into five geographic provinces. Accordingly, on 1 October 1833 five provinces under one administration came into being, Eastern Province – composed of the maritime districts of Batticaloa and Trincomalee, and the Kandyan provinces of Bintenna and Tamankaduwa. Northern Province – composed of the districts of Jaffna, Mannar and Vanni. Southern Province – composed of the districts of Galle, Hambantota, Matara and Tangalle. Western Province – composed of the districts of Colombo, Chilaw and Puttalam. Over the next fifty years four additional provinces were created, taking the number to nine. North Central Province was created in 1873 from southern Northern Province, Uva Province was created in 1886 from parts of Central Province, Eastern Province and Southern Province. Sabaragamuwa Province was created in 1889, the proclamations were only meant to be a temporary measure until a referendum was held in the Eastern Province on a permanent merger between the two provinces. However, the referendum was never held and successive Sri Lankan presidents issued proclamations annually extending the life of the temporary entity, the merger was bitterly opposed by Sri Lankan nationalists. On 14 July 2006, after a campaign against the merger. On 16 October 2006 the Supreme Court ruled that the proclamations issued by President Jayewardene were null, the North-East Province was formally de-merged into the Northern and Eastern provinces on 1 January 2007. Sri Lanka currently has nine provinces, seven of which have had provincial councils from the start, all population data are from the most recent census of Sri Lanka, in 2012. ISO 3166-2, LK Provinces of Sri Lanka
28.
Districts of Sri Lanka
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In Sri Lanka, districts are the second-level administrative divisions, and are included in a province. There are 25 districts organized into 9 provinces, each district is administered under a District Secretary, who is appointed by the central government. The main tasks of the District Secretariat involve coordinating communications and activities of the central government, a district is divided into a number of Divisional Secretarys Divisions, which are in turn subdivided into 14,022 Grama Niladhari Divisions. There are 231 DS divisions in the country, the country was first divided into several administrative units during the Anuradhapura Kingdom. The kingdom was divided into three provinces, Rajarata, Ruhuna and Malaya Rata and these were further subdivided into smaller units called rata. Over time, the number of provinces increased, but the administrative division continued to be the rata. The territory of the Kotte Kingdom was organized into four disavas, the korales had their own civil and military officials with a small militia. The Jaffna kingdom appears to have had an administrative structure to this with four provinces. When the Portuguese took over parts of the country after their arrival in 1505, during the Dutch rule in the country, the terrain under their control was divided into three administrative divisions. These were subdivided into disavas as in earlier systems, the British initially continued this system, but following reforms in 1796 to 1802, the country was divided according to ethnic composition. This was abolished by the Colebrook–Cameron reforms in 1833 and a council was created. Five provinces were created, later expanded into nine, and these were subdivided into twenty-one districts and these districts were administered by officials known as Government Agents or Assistant Government Agents. In 1955, the replaced the province as the countrys main administrative unit. The last district to be created was Kilinochchi in February 1984, and these districts may be subdivided or amalgamated by a resolution of the Parliament of Sri Lanka. All population data are from the most recent census of Sri Lanka, ISO 3166-2, LK Provinces of Sri Lanka
29.
Foreign relations of Sri Lanka
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Foreign relations of Sri Lanka refers to the diplomatic and commercial relations between Sri Lanka and other countries. Sri Lanka has stressed its principle of friendship towards all, enmity towards none in its diplomacy, Sri Lanka traditionally follows a Non-Aligned Foreign Policy and does not take sides with major powers. Sri Lanka has also forged ties with the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, African Union. Sri Lanka participates in multilateral diplomacy, particularly at the United Nations, where it seeks to promote sovereignty, independence, Sri Lanka was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement. It also is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank and Colombo Plan. Sri Lanka continues its active participation in the NAM, while stressing the importance it places on regionalism by playing a strong role in SAARC. The goal of Sri Lankas foreign policy is to maintain a strong, independent, powerful and unitary Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka’s foreign policy has been founded in the national interest. Diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and Kenya was established in 1970, Sri Lanka has a High Commission in Nairobi. It serves Ethiopia, Tanzania, UNEP and UN-HABITAT, Rwanda, Mali and South Sudan. Mr. T. Raveenthiran is the current Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Kenya, relations are historically tied together even beyond the sub-continents colonisation by the British. Sri Lankas first King was alleged to have ancestors from the Vanga Kingdom which occupied an area now known as Bangladesh, Bangladeshs Buddhist minority gifted Sri Lanka with a few strands of hair said to have belonged to Buddha as a sign of goodwill. It is an object on Poya Day, a Buddhist public holiday in Sri Lanka. In August 2008, both heads of states discussed the implementation of new air links in hope of increasing trade, investment, Sri Lankas current investments have been in Bangladeshs garment and banking sector and expect to diversify into different areas. Bangladesh also hosts a number of Sri Lankan medical students and cricket as a form of communications between their people. There has been discussion to increase bilateral relations, cooperation between the two navies and sending Sri Lankan Naval personal to study in Bangladesh, the ambassador of the Sri Lankan High Commission in New Delhi is accredited to Bhutan. The ambassador of the Bhutanese Embassy in Dhaka is accredited to Sri Lanka, Bhutan has an honorary consulate in Colombo. In 1411, the Ming Dynasty fought a war against the Kingdom of Kotte and this conflict was known as the Ming-Kotte War. China and Sri Lanka are now engaged in relations, as China provided valuable equipment and materials to the Sri Lankan Army. Recently, in the Summer of 2012, the Chinese officials visited Sri Lankan military officials, currently, Sri Lanka seems intent on maintaining a good relationship with China, both militarily and politically
30.
Sri Lankan Civil War
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The Sri Lankan Civil War was an armed conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka. After a 26-year military campaign, the Sri Lankan military defeated the Tamil Tigers in May 2009, bringing the civil war to an end. For over 25 years, the war caused significant hardships for the population, environment and the economy of the country, with an initial estimated 80, 000–100,000 people killed during its course. In 2013, the UN panel estimated additional deaths during the last phase of the war, during the early part of the conflict, the Sri Lankan forces attempted to retake the areas captured by the LTTE. The LTTE then declared they would resume their struggle to achieve statehood. Following the end of the war, the Sri Lankan government claimed Sri Lanka as the first country in the world to eradicate terrorism on its own soil. Following the LTTEs defeat, pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance dropped its demand for a separate state, the origins of the Sri Lankan Civil War lie in the continuous political rancor between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils. The roots of the conflict lie in the British colonial rule when the country was known as Ceylon. However, British Gov. William Manning actively encouraged the concept of representation and created the Colombo town seat in 1920. However, in 1944 J. R. Jayawardene moved in the State Council that Sinhala should replace English as the official language, approximately over 700,000 Indian Tamils were made stateless. Over the next three decades more than 300,000 Indian Tamils were deported back to India and it wasnt until 2003–55 years after independence—that all Indian Tamils living in Sri Lanka were granted citizenship, but by this time they only made up 5% of the islands population. In 1956 Prime Minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike passed the Sinhala Only Act and this was seen as a deliberate attempt to discourage the Sri Lankan Tamils from working in the Ceylon Civil Service and other public services. The Tamil-speaking minorities of Ceylon viewed the Act as linguistic, cultural, many Tamil-speaking civil servants/public servants were forced to resign because they werent fluent in Sinhala. This was a prelude to the 1956 Gal Oya riots and the 1958 widespread riots in which thousands of Tamil civilians perished, the civil war was a direct result of the escalation of the confrontational politics that followed. In the late 1960s documents relating to a separate Tamil state of Tamil Eelam began to circulate, at this time Anton Balasingham, an employee of the British High Commission in Colombo, began to participate in separatist activities. He later migrated to Britain, where he would become the chief theoretician of the LTTE, in the late 1960s several Tamil youth, among them Velupillai Prabhakaran, also became involved in these activities. They carried out several operations against pro-government Tamil politicians, Sri Lanka police. During the 1970s Policy of standardization was initiated, under the policy, university selection was calculated based on language
