William Gopallawa | |
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.jpg) Gopallawa in 1961 | |
| 1st President of Sri Lanka | |
| In office 22 May 1972 – 4 February 1978 | |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | Office established (Elizabeth II as Queen of Ceylon) |
| Succeeded by | Junius Richard Jayewardene |
| 4th Governor-General of Ceylon | |
| In office 2 March 1962 – 22 May 1972 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | Sir Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished (Himself as President of Sri Lanka) |
| 5th Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement | |
| In office 16 August 1976 – 4 February 1978 | |
| Preceded by | Houari Boumédienne |
| Succeeded by | Junius Richard Jayawardene |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 September 1896 Matale, British Ceylon |
| Died | 31 January 1981 (aged 84) Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 5 |
| Alma mater | |
William Gopallawa MBE (Sinhala: විලියම් ගොපල්ලව, Tamil: வில்லியம் கோப்பல்லாவ; 17 September 1896 – 31 January 1981) was the last Governor-General of Ceylon from 1962 to 1972 and the first and only non-executive President of Sri Lanka from 1972 to 1978, when Ceylon declared itself a republic and changed its name to Sri Lanka.
Gopallawa served as Governor-General during the tenure of three different governments, two headed by Sirimavo Bandaranaike of the SLFP and one headed by Dudley Senanayake of the UNP.