President of Sri Lanka
| President of Sri Lanka ශ්රී ලංකා ජනාධිපති இலங்கை சனாதிபதி |
|
|---|---|
.svg)
|
|
| Style |
The Honourable (Informal) His Excellency (Formal and diplomatic) |
| Member of | Cabinet |
| Residence | President's House |
| Appointer | Direct election votes |
| Term length | Five years, renewable once |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka |
| Inaugural holder | William Gopallawa |
| Formation | 22 May 1972 |
| Website |
President Presidential Secretariat |
.jpg)
The President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhalese: ශ්රී ලංකා ජනාධිපති Sri Lanka Janadhipathi; Tamil: இலங்கை சனாதிபதி Ilankai janatipati) 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, but it remained a mostly ceremonial position.
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 and independence from Parliament was created. The President is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, head of the Cabinet, appoints the prime minister, and could dissolve parliament (after one year has passed since the convening of parliament after a parliamentary election) The 17th constitutional amendment of 2001 reduced certain powers of the President in particular in regard to the appointment of the upper judiciary and independent commissions such as the election commission or the bribery and corruption commission.
...
Wikipedia