President of the Senate of Ceylon | |
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Inaugural holder | Gerard Wijeyekoon |
Formation | 14 October 1947 |
Final holder | Abeyratne Ratnayaka |
Abolished | 2 October 1971 |
Deputy | Deputy President of the Senate of Ceylon |
This article is part of a series on the |
Politics of Sri Lanka |
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The president of the Senate of Ceylon, was the presiding officer and the highest ranking-official of the Senate of Ceylon.
The president of the Senate was the fourth most senior position in the government, following the governor general, the prime minister and the chief justice.
The Senate was created on 1947 with the abolition of the Soulbury Commission as the upper house with the House of Representatives of Ceylon as the lower house. The position of president was created under clause 16 of the Ceylon (Constitution) Order in Council, 1947, which required the Senate at its first constituted meeting to elect two senators to the role of president and deputy president. The position becoming vacant when the president either resigned or ceased to be a senator. The president had the casting vote in the event of a tied vote in the senate.[1]