Minister of Defence (Sri Lanka)

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Minister of Defence of Sri Lanka
Incumbent Gotabaya Rajapaksa since 26 November 2020
Ministry of Defence
Inaugural holder	Don Stephen Senanayake
Formation	24 September 1947
Deputy	Chamal Rajapaksa
Website	www.defence.lk

The Minister of Defence is an appointment in the Cabinet of Sri Lanka who is responsible for the implementation of the Government of Sri Lankas defence policy and the headquarters of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces. The post was first created in 1947 as Minister of External Affairs and Defence, in 1978 the Ministry of External Affairs and Defence separated into two ministries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defence. Prior to the separation of the post the Minister of External Affairs and Defence was held by the Prime Minister since 1947, with a Parliamentary Secretary for Defence and External Affairs who was an elected parliamentarian and was the de facto foreign minister.

List of Defence Ministers[]

This list is incomplete; you can help by . (June 2013)

No.	Portrait	Name (Born-Died)	Term			Political Party	Head(s) of Government
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
Minister of External Affairs and Defence
1		D. S. Senanayake (1883–1952)	24 September 1947	22 March 1952 †	4 years, 180 days	United National Party	D. S. Senanayake
2		Dudley Senanayake (1911–1973)	22 March 1952	12 October 1953	1 year, 204 days	United National Party	Dudley Senanayake
3		John Kotelawala (1895–1980)	12 October 1953	12 April 1956	2 years, 183 days	United National Party	John Kotelawala
4		S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike (1899–1959)	12 April 1956	26 September 1959 †	3 years, 167 days	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike
5		Wijeyananda Dahanayake (1901–1997)	26 September 1959	20 March 1960	176 days	Sinhala Language Front	Wijeyananda Dahanayake
(2)		Dudley Senanayake (1911–1973)	21 March 1960	21 July 1960	122 days	United National Party	Dudley Senanayake
6		Sirimavo Bandaranaike (1916–2000)	21 July 1960	25 March 1965	4 years, 247 days	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	Sirimavo Bandaranaike
(2)		Dudley Senanayake (1911–1973)	25 March 1965	29 May 1970	5 years, 65 days	United National Party	Dudley Senanayake
(6)		Sirimavo Bandaranaike (1916–2000)	29 May 1970	23 July 1977	7 years, 55 days	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	Sirimavo Bandaranaike
7		J. R. Jayewardene (1906–1996)	23 July 1977	4 February 1978	196 days	United National Party	J. R. Jayewardene
Minister of Defence
1		Ranasinghe Premadasa (1924–1993)	1989	?	?	United National Party	Ranasinghe Premadasa
2		Ranjan Wijeratne (1931–1991)	?	?	?	United National Party	Ranasinghe Premadasa
3		Dingiri Banda Wijetunga (1916–2008)	7 May 1993	12 November 1994	1 year, 189 days	United National Party	Dingiri Banda Wijetunga
4		Chandrika Kumaratunga (born 1945)	12 November 1994	12 December 2001	7 years, 30 days	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	Chandrika Kumaratunga
5		Tilak Marapana (born 1942)	12 December 2001	4 November 2003	1 year, 327 days	United National Party	Chandrika Kumaratunga
(4)		Chandrika Kumaratunga (born 1945)	4 November 2003	19 November 2005	2 years, 15 days	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	Chandrika Kumaratunga
Minister of Defence and Urban Development
1		Mahinda Rajapaksa (born 1945)	19 November 2005	8 January 2015	9 years, 50 days	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	Mahinda Rajapaksa
Minister of Defence
6		Maithripala Sirisena (born 1951)	12 January 2015	18 November 2019	4 years, 310 days	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	Maithripala Sirisena
7		Gotabaya Rajapaksa (born 1949)	26 November 2020	Incumbent	Incumbent	Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna	Gotabaya Rajapaksa

See also[]

• Ministry of Defence
• Ministry of External Affairs and Defence
• Minister for Internal Security (Ceylon)

References[]

External links[]

• Government of Sri Lanka
• Ministry of Defence Sri Lanka