First Lady of Sri Lanka

First Lady of Sri Lanka
ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජනාධිපති බිරිද
இலங்கை முதல் பெண்மணி
Incumbent
Mallika Dissanayaka
since 23 September 2024
ResidencePresident's House
Inaugural holderSeelawathie Gopallawa
Formation22 April 1972 (1972-04-22)

First Lady of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජනාධිපති ආර්යා Śrī Laṃkā Janādhipathi Aryā; Tamil: இலங்கை முதல் பெண்மணி Ilankai Mutal Peṇmaṇi) 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.[1]

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.[2][3] 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.

  1. ^ "Shiranthi Wickremesinghe Rajapaksa - First Lady of Sri Lanka". Office of the First Lady of Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 2014-06-13. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
  2. ^ "How did Ranil Wickremesinghe become Sri Lanka's president after six terms as PM?". The National (Abu Dhabi). 2022-07-20. Archived from the original on 2022-08-03. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
  3. ^ "First Lady travels alone in London". The Morning (Sri Lanka). 2022-09-25. Archived from the original on 2022-09-27. Retrieved 2022-09-27.