The following persons have served as British high commissioner to Sri Lanka, previously known as Ceylon. Countries belonging to the Commonwealth of Nations typically exchange high commissioners rather than ambassadors. Though there are a few technical differences, they are in practice one and the same office. Since 1965 when the Maldives were granted independence from the United Kingdom, the British high commissioner to Sri Lanka has doubled as the (non-resident) British high commissioner to the Maldives (from 1982 to 2016) and as the British ambassador to the Maldives (1965 to 1982, and October 2016 to 2019). After 2019 the role of ambassador, and then high commissioner, to the Maldives became a separate position.
List of British high commissioners Dominion of Ceylon
1948–1951: Sir Walter Hankinson 1951–1957: Sir Cecil Syers 1957–1962: Sir Alexander Morley 1962–1966: Sir Michael Walker 1966–1969: Sir Stanley Tomlinson 1969–1972: Sir Angus Mackintosh
Sri Lanka
1972–1975: Sir Harold Smedley 1976–1979: David Aiers 1979–1984: Sir John Nicholas 1984–1987: John Stewart 1987–1991: David Gladstone 1991–1996: John Field 1996–1999: David Tatham 1999–2002: Linda Duffield 2002–2006: Stephen Evans 2006–2008: Dominick Chilcott 2008–2011: Peter Hayes 2011–2015: John Rankin 2015–2019: James Dauris 2019–2023: Sarah Hulton
2023–: Andrew Patrick
References
External links
British High Commission Colombo