First Lady of Sri Lanka

First Lady or First Gentleman of Sri Lanka refers to the wife or husband of the president of Sri Lanka. To date, there have been seven women who have been married to Sri Lankan presidents in office and have served in the role. Sri Lanka's current first lady is Ioma Rajapaksa, the wife of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who has held the position since 2019. There have been no first gentlemen of Sri Lanka to date. President Chandrika Kumaratunga, the country's first female head of state, was a widow while in office.

First Lady of Sri Lanka
Incumbent Ioma Rajapaksa
Residence	President's House
Appointer	Gotabaya Rajapaksa as President of Sri Lanka
Inaugural holder	Seelawathie Gopallawa
Formation	April 22, 1972 (1972-04-22)

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.

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 became known as Lady Elina Jayewardene during and after his presidency.[1] Thereafter, during the presidency of Ranasinghe Premadasa, his wife Madam Hema Premadasa as she was referred to, took on a very viable role and became a public figure unlike before.[2]

Wimalawathi Kumarihami, the wife of the president D. B. Wijethunge was mentioned as the first lady that the public has never seen.[3] Chandrika Kumaratunga who was President from 1994 to 2005 was a widow as her husband, film star Vijaya Kumaratunga, was killed in 1987 and she was the first female president of Sri Lanka. When Mahinda Rajapaksa became president, his wife Shiranthi Rajapaksa took a very viable role, expensively using the title of first lady and becoming a public her husband's presidency having her own naval aide and staff funded by the presidential secretariat. In 2015, Maithripala Sirisena took office and his wife Jayanthi Pushpa Kumari has maintained a low profile.

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 1928	William Gopallawa	1972		1977†	0 days	(1977-10-04)4 October 1977
–	–	Position vacant	–	–	William Gopallawa	1977	–	1978	–	–	–	Position fell vacant upon the death of Seelawathie Gopallawa.
2		Elina Jayewardene (née Rupasinghe)	(1913-12-15)15 December 1913	28 February 1935	J. R. Jayewardene	1978	64 years, 51 days	1989	18 years, 319 days	(2007-11-17)17 November 2007	93 years, 337 days
3		Hema Premadasa (née Wickrematunge)		23 June 1964	Ranasinghe Premadasa	1989		1993	27 years, 106 days
4		Wimalawathi Kumarihami			Dingiri Banda Wijetunga	1993		1994
–	–	Position vacant	–	–	Chandrika Kumaratunga	1994	–	2005	–	–	–	Kumaratunga's husband Vijaya, was assassinated in 1988 before she became president.
5		Shiranthi Rajapaksa (née Wickramasinghe)	(1953-01-23)23 January 1953	1983	Mahinda Rajapaksa	2005	52 years, 300 days	2015	5 years, 219 days		67 years, 205 days
6		Jayanthi Pushpa Kumari		1970s	Maithripala Sirisena	2015		2019	271 days
7		Ioma Rajapaksa			Gotabaya Rajapaksa	2019		Incumbent

See also

• President of Sri Lanka

References

1. Welilaka, Clarence (2 December 2007). "Memoirs of a just, caring and endearing personality". The Sunday Leader.
2. "President Premadasa's death anniversary commemorated with military honours on President's directive - Azwer". Daily News. 18 May 2006.
3. "DB's place in history". 14 February 2001.