Harini Amarasuriya is the 16th and current prime minister of Sri Lanka, serving since 24 September 2024.

[2] Under the Soulbury Constitution, the post of Prime Minister was created in 1947 as the head of government of Ceylon in the Westminster system.

The Prime Minister's Office is located in the Sirimathipaya on Sir Ernest de Silva Mawatha (formerly known as Flower Road) in Colombo.

In recent years, Temple Trees has also been used by some presidents of Sri Lanka, such as Kumaratunga and Rajapaksa, while some prime ministers such as Wickremesinghe have chosen to stay at their own personal residences.

4 (VVIP/VIP) Helicopter Squadron of the Sri Lanka Air Force are used while for long-distance travel, regular flights of the SriLankan Airlines are used.

This was supplemented by the Army's Field Security Detachment following the 1962 attempted coup d'état and during the 1971 JVP insurrection.

[4][5] The D. S. Senanayake, the leader of the newly formed United National Party became the first Prime Minister.

On 3 December 2018, a court issued an interim order preventing Mahinda Rajapaksha from functioning in the position.

On 9 May 2022, prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa submitted his letter of resignation amidst the protests.

[9] Three days later, on 12 May 2022, president Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed veteran politician Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister.

This would lead to president Gotabaya Rajapaksa's evacuation from Sri Lanka on 13 July 2022, and in his absence, appointed prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as acting president under Article 37 (1) of Sri Lanka's constitution during his absence.

Two days later, on 22 July, Wickremesinghe appointed Dinesh Gunawardena as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.