Sri Lankan President
| President of Sri Lanka ශ්රී ලංකා ජනාධිපති இலங்கை சனாதிபதி |
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| Style |
The Honourable (Informal) His Excellency (Formal and diplomatic) |
| Member of |
Cabinet National Security Council |
| Residence |
President's House (de jure) 61 Paget Road, Colombo 7 (de facto) |
| Seat | Colombo |
| Appointer | Direct election |
| Term length | Five years, renewable once |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka |
| Precursor | Governor-General of Ceylon |
| Inaugural holder |
William Gopallawa as the first President under the 1972 Constitution J. R. Jayewardene as the first executive President under the 1978 Constitution |
| Formation | 22 May 1972 4 February 1978 |
| Salary | LKR 1,170,000 annually (2016) |
| Website |
President Presidential Secretariat |
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The President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhalese: ශ්රී ලංකා ජනාධිපති Śrī Laṃkā Janādhipathi; Tamil: இலங்கை சனாதிபதி Ilankai janātipati) is the executive head of state and head of government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and commander-in-chief of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces.
The office was created in 1972 as the head of state and becoming the head of government in 1978, thus 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.
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