First Lady of Sri Lanka (; ) refers to the wife of the President of Sri Lanka. In recent years the holders of the title have been formally or informally referred to by the title First Lady or First Lady of Sri Lanka, though there are no provisions for such in the constitution.
To date, there have been eight women who have served in the role. The current first lady of Sri Lanka is Mallika Dissanayaka, wife of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who has held the position since 23 September 2024. There have been no first gentlemen of Sri Lanka to date, since former president Chandrika Kumaratunga, the country's only female head of state, was a widow while in office.
Origins The office of the president of Sri Lanka was created in 1972 when Sri Lanka became a republic. William Gopallawa, who was the governor-general of Ceylon at the time, became the country's inaugural president. His wife, Seelawathie Gopallawa, became the first wife of a president of Sri Lanka. When J. R. Jayewardene became the next president, his wife was known as Lady Elina Jayewardene during and after his presidency. During the presidency of Ranasinghe Premadasa, his wife Hema Premadasa took on a very viable role and became a public figure unlike before.
Chandrika Kumaratunga who was president from 1994 to 2005 was a widow as her husband, film star Vijaya Kumaratunga, was assassinated in 1987. When Mahinda Rajapaksa became president, his wife Shiranthi Rajapaksa took a higher profile role, using the title of first lady and becoming a public figure during her husband's presidency, with her own naval aide and staff funded by the Presidential Secretariat.
List # Image First Lady Birth Marriage President (Husband, unless noted) Tenure began Age at tenure start Tenure ended Length of retirement Death Lifespan Notes 1 Seelawathie Gopallawa(née Rambukwella) 8 March 1928William Gopallawa 1972 1977† – Position vacant Position fell vacant upon the death of Seelawathie Gopallawa. 2 Elina Jayewardene(née Rupasinghe) 28 February 1935 J. R. Jayewardene 1978 1989 3 Hema Premadasa(née Wickrematunge) 23 June 1964 Ranasinghe Premadasa 1989 1993 Living 4 Wimalawathi Kumarihami Dingiri Banda Wijetunga 1993 1994 – Position vacant Chandrika Kumaratunga Kumaratunga's husband, Vijaya Kumaratunga, was assassinated in 1988 before she became president. 5 Shiranthi Rajapaksa(née Wickramasinghe) 1983 Mahinda Rajapaksa 2005 2015 Living 6 Jayanthi Pushpa Kumari 1970s Maithripala Sirisena 2015 2019 Living 7 Ayoma Rajapaksa Gotabaya Rajapaksa 2019 2022 days Living 8 Professor Maithree Wickremesinghe(née Wickremasinghe) 1994 Ranil Wickremasinghe 2022 2024 Living 9 Mallika Dissanayake 1994 Anura Kumara Dissanayake 2024 Living
See also President of Sri Lanka
References