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 position becoming vacant when the president either resigned or ceased to be a senator.

[1] The first president was Sir Gerard Wijeyekoon,[2] who was elected at the first sitting of the senate on 14 October 1947.

Following Wijeyekoon's death on 21 September 1952 Sir Nicholas Attygalle was elected to the position of president in October that year,[3] less than a year after he was appointed to the senate.

On 18 January 1955 Attygalle resigned from the senate to take up a position as the vice chancellor of the University of Ceylon.