Prime Minister of Sri Lanka

As head of the cabinet of ministers, the Prime Minister has the power to:

• Determine the number of Cabinet Ministers and Ministries and assignment of subjects.
• Determine the number of Non-cabinet Ministers and Ministries and assignment of subjects.

By the constitution, the Prime Minister holds formal power to advise the president on:

• Appoint, dismiss, or accept the resignation of cabinet and non-cabinet ministers.[3]
• Change of subjects assigned to cabinet ministers.[3]

As per the constitution, if the office of president becomes vacant, the prime minister would "act in the office of President during the period between the occurrence of such vacancy and the assumption of office by the new President and shall appoint one of the other Ministers of the Cabinet to act in the office of Prime Minister". In such as situation, the office of Prime Minister is vacant or the prime minister is unable to act, the Speaker shall act in the office of President.[3]

The president may appoint the prime minister to exercise, perform and discharge the powers, duties and functions of the office of President for a period during the president is unable to exercise, perform and discharge the powers, duties and functions of his office due to illness, absence from Sri Lanka or any other cause.[3]

The Prime Minister would receive a salary (as of 2016) of LKR 800,000 annually paid from the Prime Minister's Office.

The official residence of the prime minister is the Prime Minister's House most commonly referred to as Temple Trees. The prime minister has the use of the Prime Minister's Cottage as a vacationing residence in the holiday-town of Nuwara Eliya. 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 from time to time, Temple Trees has been by some presidents such as Kumaratunga and Rajapaksa. While certain Prime Ministers such as Wickremesinghe have chosen to stay at his personal residence.

For ground travel, the prime minister uses the prime ministerial car, which is an armored black Mercedes-Benz S-Class (S600) Pullman Guard. For domestic air travel, helicopters from the No. 4 (VVIP/VIP) Helicopter Squadron of the Sri Lanka Air Force are used while for long distance travel, regular flights of the Sri Lankan Airlines are used.

Traditionally security for the prime minister has been provided by the Sri Lanka Police. After the establishment of the office of Prime Minister in 1948, a Sub Inspector of the Ceylon Police Force had been assigned for personal protection of the Prime Minister, until S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike dismissed his personal protection officer. When Bandaranaike was assassinated, only a lone police constable stood guard at the entrance of his residence. Following the Bandaranaike assassination, the successive Prime Ministers received a police guard headed by a Sub Inspector. This was supplemented by the Army's Field Security Detachment following the 1962 attempted coup d'état and during the 1971 JVP insurrection.[4] At present the Prime Minister's Security Division is in charge of security of the Prime Minister.

In the Sri Lankan order of precedence, the prime minister is placed after the President, but before the Speaker of the Parliament.

On 26 October 2018, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was appointed by Maithripala Sirisena as the Prime Minister dismissing incumbent Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe. Wickremasinghe refused to accept the dismissal stating that it was unconstitutional, resulting in a constitutional crisis.

On 3 December 2018, a court issued an interim order preventing Mahinda Rajapaksha from functioning in the position.[5] On December 16, 2018 Ranil Wickramasinghe was re-appointed as Prime Minister ending the crisis.[6]