Governor-General of Ceylon
Governor-general of Ceylon | |
---|---|
Coat of Arms of the Dominion of Ceylon | |
William Gopallawa, MBE | |
Style | Excellency |
Residence | Queen's House |
Appointer | Monarch, on the advice of the Prime Minister |
Precursor | Governor of British Ceylon |
Formation | 4 February 1948 |
First holder | Sir Henry Monck-Mason Moore |
Final holder | William Gopallawa |
Abolished | 22 May 1972 |
Succession | President of Sri Lanka |
Salary | £8,000 a year |
The governor-general of Ceylon was the representative of the monarch in the Dominion of Ceylon from the country's independence from the United Kingdom in 1948 until it became the republic of Sri Lanka in 1972.[1]
Contents
1 Role
2 History
3 Residence
4 Governors-general of Ceylon
5 Flag of the governor-general
6 References
Role
The monarch, on the advice of the Prime Minister, appointed a governor-general to be his/her representative in Ceylon. Neither the monarch nor the Governor-General had any real authority in conducting the administration of the country (however, both possessed reserve powers under the constitution which would allow them full control of the nation's governance whenever in their opinion a case of emergency requiring such action arises). Real legislative and executive responsibilities rested with the elected representatives of the people. During several periods when a state of emergency was declared the Governor-General used his reserved powers.
The governor-general represented the monarch on ceremonial occasions such as the opening of Parliament, the presentation of honours and military parades. Under the Constitution, he was given authority to act in some matters, for example in appointing and disciplining officers of the civil service, in proroguing Parliament and so on, but only in a few cases was he empowered to act entirely on his own discretion. On the absence of the governor-general, the Chief Justice of Ceylon became acting Governor-General.
History
There were four governors-general.
Sir Henry Monck-Mason Moore became the last Governor of Ceylon and first governor-general when the Ceylon Order in Council, the first constitution of independent Ceylon came into effect. He was followed by Lord Soulbury, thereafter by Sir Oliver Goonetilleke the first Ceylonese to be appointed to the post. When William Gopallawa was appointed as Governor-General in 1962, he discarded the ceremonial uniform of office.
When Ceylon became a republic in 1972 the post was replaced by the office of President of Sri Lanka.
Residence
The official residence and office of the governor-general was the Queen's House (currently the President's House) in Colombo. Other Governor-General residences include:
- the Queen's Pavilion, in Kandy, was the residences used for (rare) state functions;
- the Queen's Cottage was the vacationing residence in the town of Nuwara Eliya.
Governors-general of Ceylon
Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Sovereign | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sir Henry Monck-Mason Moore GCMG KStJ (1887–1964) | 4 February 1948 | 6 July 1949 | George VI | |
Herwald Ramsbotham, 1st Viscount Soulbury GCMG GCVO OBE MC PC (1887–1971) | 6 July 1949 | 17 July 1954 | ||
Elizabeth II | ||||
Sir Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke GCMG KCVO KBE (1892–1978) | 17 July 1954 | 2 March 1962 | ||
William Gopallawa MBE (1897–1981) | 2 March 1962 | 22 May 1972 |
- Acting Governors-general
Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Sovereign | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Acting Justice Arthur Wijewardena (1887–1964) | 195? | 195? | Elizabeth II | |
Acting Justice C. Nagalingam KC (1893–1958) | 1954 | 1954 |
Flag of the governor-general
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Flag used from 1948 to 1953
Flag used from 1953 to 1972
References
^ "Ceylon Constitution Order in Council 1946". Tamilnation. Retrieved 9 November 2012..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ Lentz, Harris M. (1994). Heads of States and Governments Since 1945. New York.: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. p. 704. ISBN 1-884964-44-3. Retrieved 27 July 2017.