Country name:
conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
conventional short form: Sri Lanka
former: Serendib, Ceylon
Government type:
republic
Capital:
Colombo; note - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital
Administrative divisions:
8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western,
Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western; note - North Eastern province
may have been divided in two - Northern and Eastern
Independence:
4 February 1948 (from UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 4 February (1948)
Constitution:
adopted 16 August 1978
Legal system:
a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch,
Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory
ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since
12 November 1994); note - Ranil WICKREMASINGHE (since 9 December
2001) is the prime minister; the president is considered both the
chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA
(since 12 November 1994); note - Ranil WICKREMASINGHE (since 9
December 2001) is the prime minister; the president is considered
both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the
prime minister
elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term;
election last held 21 December 1999 (next to be held NA December
2005)
election results: Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA reelected
president; percent of vote - Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (PA)
51%, Ranil WICKREMASINGHE (UNP) 42%, other 7%
Legislative branch:
unicameral Parliament (225 seats; members elected by popular vote
on the basis of a modified proportional representation system by
district to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held 7 December 2001 (next to be held NA December
2007)
election results: percent of vote by party or electoral alliance -
UNP, SLMC and CWC 46.8%, PA and EPDP 38%, JVP 9.1%, TNA 3.89%, PLOTE
0.19%; seats by party or electoral alliance - UNP, SLMC and CWC 114,
PA and EPDP 79, JVP 16, TNA 15, PLOTE 1
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are
appointed by the president
Political parties and leaders:
All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC [KUMARGURUPARAM]; Ceylon Workers
Congress or CWC [Arumugam THONDAMAN]; Communist Party or CP [D.
GUNASEKERA]; Democratic United National (Lalith) Front or DUNLF
[Shrimani ATULATHMUDALI]; Eelam People's Democratic Party or EPDP
[Douglas DEVANANDA]; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front
or EPRLF [Suresh PREMACHANDRAN]; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna or JVP
[Tilvan SILVA]; National Unity Alliance or NUA [Ferial ASHRAFF];
People's Alliance or PA [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA];
People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [leader
NA]; Sihala Urumaya or SU [Tilak KARUNARATNE]; Sri Lanka Freedom
Party or SLFP [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; Sri Lanka Muslim
Congress or SLMC [Rauff HAKEEM]; Sri Lanka Progressive Front or SLPF
[P. Nelson PERERA]; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or TELO
[SABARATNAM]; Tamil National Alliance or TNA [Nadarajah RAVIRAJ];
Tamil United Liberation Front or TULF [R. SAMPATHAN]; United
National Party or UNP [Ranil WICKREMASINGHE]; Upcountry People's
Front or UPF [P. CHANDRASEKARAN]; several ethnic Tamil and Muslim
parties, represented in either Parliament or provincial councils
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Buddhist clergy; labor unions; Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or
LTTE [Velupillai PRABHAKARAN](insurgent group fighting for a
separate state); radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups such as the
National Movement Against Terrorism; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups
International organization participation:
AsDB, C, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol,
IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC,
UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Devinda R. SUBASINGHE
consulate(s): New York
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles
FAX: [1] (202) 232-7181
telephone: [1] (202) 483-4025 (through 4028)
chancery: 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador E. Ashley WILLS
embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3
mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo
telephone: [94] (1) 448007
FAX: [94] (1) 437345
Flag description:
yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel has two equal
vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the other panel is
a large dark red rectangle with a yellow lion holding a sword, and
there is a yellow bo leaf in each corner; the yellow field appears
as a border around the entire flag and extends between the two panels