National State Assembly

Sri Lanka
Type
Type|

Unicameral

History
Established| 22 May 1972
Disbanded| 7 September 1978
Preceded by| Parliament of Ceylon
Succeeded by| Parliament of Sri Lanka
Seats| 151 (1972-1977)
168 (1977-1978)
Elections

Last election

| 1977 Sri Lankan parliamentary election
Meeting place
The State Council building in Galle Face Green, Colombo. The building was used by the State Council's successors (the House of Representatives of Ceylon, National State Assembly, and Parliament of Sri Lanka) until 1982. Today it is known as the Old Parliament Building and houses the Presidential Secretariat.
This article is part of a series on the

Politics of
Sri Lanka

Constitution

* Amendments
* Law
* Human rights
* Taxation

* * *

Previous Constitutions

* 1931
* 1947
* 1972

Executive

President of Sri Lanka (10th)

* Anura Kumara Dissanayake

* * *

Ministerial portfolios

* Defence
* Finance, Planning and
Economic Development
* Digital Economy

* * *

Administration

* Dissanayake I
* Dissanayake II

* * *

* Presidential Secretariat

Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (16th)

* Harini Amarasuriya

* * *

Ministerial portfolios

* Education, Higher Education and
Vocational Education

* * *

* Prime Minister's Office

Cabinet of Sri Lanka

* List of Cabinets
* Ministers
* Ministries
* Cabinet Office

* * *

* National Security Council

Legislature

Parliament of Sri Lanka (17th)

* * *

* Speaker (23rd)

* Jagath Wickramaratne

* * *

* Deputy Speaker and
Chairman of Committees

* Rizvie Salih

* * *

* Deputy Chairperson of Committees

* Hemali Weerasekara

* * *

* Leader of the Opposition

* Sajith Premadasa

* * *

* Leader of the House

* Bimal Rathnayake

* * *

* Chief Government Whip

* Nalinda Jayatissa

* * *

* Chief Opposition Whip

* Gayantha Karunathilaka

* * *

* Constitutional Council
* COPE
* Parliament Secretariat

Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs

* Cabinet Minister

* Ananda Wijepala

Judiciary

Supreme Court of Sri Lanka

* Chief Justice (49th)

* Padman Surasena

* * *

* Justices of the Supreme Court

Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka

* President of the Court (52nd)

* Nalin Abeysooriya

* * *

* Judges of the Court of Appeal

* * *

* High Court
* District Court
* Magistrate's Court
* Primary Court
* Labour Tribunal

* * *

* Judicial Service Commission
* Bar Association
* Law enforcement

Attorney General's Department

* Attorney General (49th)

* Parinda Ranasinghe Jr.

* * *

* Solicitor General

* Viraj Dayaratne

Ministry of Justice

* Cabinet Minister

* Harshana Nanayakkara

Elections

Election Commission

* Chairman

* R. M. A. L. Rathnayake

* * *

* Members

Elections

* Presidential

* 1982
* 1988
* 1994
* 1999
* 2005
* 2010
* 2015
* 2019
* 2024

* * *

* Parliamentary

* 1947
* 1952
* 1956
* 1960 (M)
* 1960 (J)
* 1965
* 1970
* 1977
* 1989
* 1994
* 2000
* 2001
* 2004
* 2010
* 2015
* 2020
* 2024
* Next

* * *

* Provincial council

* 1988 (NE)
* 1999
* 2004
* 2008/09
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014 (M)
* 2014 (S)

* * *

* Local government

* 1998
* 2009
* 2011
* 2018
* 2019 (E)
* 2024 (E)
* 2025

Referendum

* 1982

* * *

* Electoral districts
* Polling divisions
* Political parties

Administrative divisions

Provinces

* Central
* Eastern
* North Central
* Northern
* North Western
* Sabaragamuwa
* Southern
* Uva
* Western

Districts

* Ampara
* Anuradhapura
* Badulla
* Batticaloa
* Colombo
* Galle
* Gampaha
* Hambantota
* Jaffna
* Kalutara
* Kandy
* Kegalle
* Kilinochchi
* Kurunegala
* Mannar
* Matale
* Matara
* Monaragala
* Mullaitivu
* Nuwara Eliya
* Polonnaruwa
* Puttalam
* Ratnapura
* Trincomalee
* Vavuniya

* * *

* District Secretariats
* Divisional Secretariats
* Grama Niladhari divisions
* Cities
* Towns
* Capital city

Devolution

* 13th Amendment
* Indo-Sri Lanka Accord

* * *

* Provincial Councils
* Governors
* Chief Ministers
* Councillors

* * *

* Local government
* Municipal Councils
* Urban Councils
* Pradeshiya Sabhas

Ministry of Provincial Councils
and Local Government

* Cabinet Minister

* Chandana Abayarathna

Central Bank

* Governor

* Nandalal Weerasinghe

* * *

* Currency
* Banknotes
* Economy

Ministry of Finance

* Cabinet Minister

* Anura Kumara Dissanayake

Foreign relations

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

* Cabinet Minister

* Vijitha Herath

* * *

* Diplomatic missions of / in Sri Lanka
* Ambassadors and high commissioners

* * *

* Passports
* Visa requirements
* Visa policy

Related topics

* Sri Lanka
* History
* Flag
* Emblem
* Anthem
* Police
* Military

* Sri Lanka portal
* Politics portal

* Other countries

* v
* t
* e

The National State Assembly (NSA) was the legislative body of Sri Lanka established in May 1972 under the First Republican Constitution. The assembly was introduced by Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike under the United Front Government replacing the Parliament of Ceylon, a bicameral arrangement set up with the Soulbury Commission.[1]

The major changes were an increase in the authority of the government, described as "a vehicle for the sovereignty of the people". It gave the government the power to act without constitutional restraints, with the courts having no rights to question the validity of the laws passed by the assembly.[1][2] All laws passed by the NSA were valid until repealed by the assembly itself. The assembly saw the introduction of socialist principles and a constitutional foundation to the pre-eminent position of Sinhala and Buddhism. Both the judiciary and Civil Service came under political control.[2] The assembly was unicameral and initially consisted of the 151 elected members of its predecessor the House of Representatives, as the Senate had been abolished in 1971. The first amendment to the current constitution was to increase the number of members to 168.

The current Constitution of Sri Lanka, adopted on 7 September 1978, replaced the National State Assembly with the Parliament of Sri Lanka.

## List of Parliaments

[edit]

Main article: List of Sri Lankan Parliaments

#  | Parliament  | Began  | Session  | Session
opened  | Session
adjourned  | Ended  | Duration[3]

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

10  | 1st
National State Assembly | 22 May 1972  | 1  | 22 May 1972  | 10 February 1977  | 10 February 1977  | 4 years 11 months 26 days
11  | 2nd
National State Assembly | 4 August 1977  | 1  | 4 August 1977  | 7 September 1978  | 7 September 1978  | 1 year 1 month 3 days

## Members

[edit]

### Speakers

[edit]

Main article: Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka

* Stanley Tillekeratne (1972–77)[4]
* Anandatissa de Alwis (1977–78)[4]

### Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees

[edit]

Main article: Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees

* I. A. Cader (1972–77)[5]
* Mohammed Abdul Bakeer Markar (1977–78)[5]

## See also

[edit]

* Parliament of Ceylon
* Parliament of Sri Lanka

## References

[edit]

* "CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS SINCE INDEPENDENCE". The Official Website of the Government of Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 2014-12-21. Retrieved 2010-12-22.

1. ^ a b Gunawardena, Charles A. (2005). Encyclopedia of Sri Lanka. Sterling Publishers. p. 256\. ISBN 9781932705485.
2. ^ a b Peebles, Patrick (2006). The History of Sri Lanka. 124: Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313332050.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location (link)
3. ^ "Duration of Parliament". Parliament.lk. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
4. ^ a b "Speakers". Handbook of Parliament. Parliament of Sri Lanka.
5. ^ a b "Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees". Handbook of Parliament. Parliament of Sri Lanka.

## External links

[edit]

* Parliament of Sri Lanka

* v
* t
* e

Parliament of Sri Lanka

* 17th Parliament
* Members of the 17th Parliament of Sri Lanka

Members|

| Current members|

* By length of service
* Youngest members
* Longest-serving members ever

|

Women and
minority members|

* Sri Lankan Tamil members
* Sri Lankan Moor members
* Other minority members
* Lady members
* Appointed members

Leaders|

* Prime Minister (list)
* Speaker of the Parliament (list)
* Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees
* Deputy Chairman of Committees
* Leader of the House
* Leader of the Opposition
* Chief Government Whip
* Chief Opposition Whip

Parliament Secretariat|

| Secretariat leaders|

* Secretaries-General (list)
* Deputy Secretary General (list)
* Assistant Secretary General (list)

|

Departments|

* Serjeant-at-Arms
* Administration
* Legislative Services
* Finance and Supplies
* Hansard
* Co-ordinating Engineer
* Catering and Housekeeping
* Information Systems and Management

Powers,
procedure
and customs|

| Powers|

* Legislative Power of the Sri Lankan Parliament

|

Committees|

* Selection
* House
* Standing Orders
* Parliamentary Business
* Public Accounts
* Public Enterprises
* Privileges
* Public Petitions

Items|

* Mace
* Chair
* Bar

History|

* History
* Historic legislatures of Sri Lanka
* Legislative Council (1833–1931)
* State Council (1931–1947)
* Parliament (1947–1972)
* National State Assembly (1972–1978)

Building of Parliament|

* Sri Lankan Parliament Building

Miscellaneous|

* List of Parliaments
* List of elections
* Deaths in office
* Districts

Website: Parliament of Sri Lanka

* v
* t
* e

Legislature of Sri Lanka and its antecedents

Website: Parliament of Sri Lanka

British Ceylon|

* Legislative Council (1833–1931)
* State Council (1931–1947)

Dominion of Ceylon|

Parliament (1947–1972)1

Sri Lanka|

* National State Assembly (1972–1978)
* Parliament (1978–present)

See also|

* Colebrooke-Cameron Commission (1829)
* Donoughmore Commission (1931–1947)
* Soulbury Commission (1944)

1 Only Bicameral legislature in modern Sri Lanka
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