Chief Secretary of Ceylon
Member ofthe Executive Council
ResidenceTemple Trees
SeatThe Secretariat
AppointerGovernor of British Ceylon
PrecursorColonial Secretary of Ceylon
Formation12 October 1798
First holderHugh Cleghorn
Final holderRobert Drayton
Abolished1946
SuccessionPrime Minister of Ceylon
DeputyDeputy Chief Secretary

The chief secretary of Ceylon, was the chairman and one of three officers of state of the Board of Ministers of the State Council of Ceylon from 1932 to 1947. The post succeeded that of Colonial Secretary which was one of six offices that held a seat in the Executive Council of Ceylon until 1932.[1][2]

The established under in 1932 by the Order in Council, following the recommendations of the Donoughmore Commission, vested the subjects of external affairs, defence and the public services of the Crown Colony of Ceylon under the chief secretary, who served as the officer administering the government in the abases of the governor.[3] As such, the chief secretary was third in the order of precedence after the governor of Ceylon and the chief justice.[1][2]

The chief secretary was assisted by a deputy chief secretary and two assistant chief secretaries. Appointments were made from senior officers of the Colonial Service. The post ceased to exist in 1947 with the formation of the Dominion of Ceylon. the chief secretary's office was located in the Secretariat and the Temple Trees was the official residence of the chief secretary. The post was replaced by the post of prime minister in 1947 under the recommendations of the Soulbury Commission under the Ceylon Independence Act, 1947 and The Ceylon (Constitution and Independence) Orders in Council 1947.[4][5]

Departments

Departments under the chief secretary's office:

List of secretaries

Data based on:

  • John Ferguson, Ceylon in the "jubilee Year"., J. Haddon and Co.,1887[6]
  • Ceylon: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries and Resources, Plâté limited, 1924[7]
# Colonial Secretary Took office Left office Appointed by
Colonial Secretary of Ceylon (1798–1932)
1Hugh Cleghorn12 October 1798January 1800Frederick North
-William BoydJanuary 1800September 1801
2Robert Arbuthnot10 September 18011806
3John Rodney3 September 18061833Thomas Maitland
4Philip Anstruther1 May 18331845Robert Wilmot-Horton
5James Emerson Tennent29 November 18451851Colin Campbell
6Charles Justin MacCarthy2 January 18511860George Byng
7William Charles Gibson10 August 18601869Charles Edmund Wilkinson
8Henry Turner Irving4 June 18691873Hercules Robinson
10Arthur Birch3 June 18731878William Henry Gregory
11John Douglas18 August 18781885James Robert Longden
12Cecil Clementi Smith17 November 18851887Arthur Hamilton-Gordon
13Edward Noël Walker10 November 18871901Arthur Hamilton-Gordon
14Everard im Thurn18 June 19011904Joseph West Ridgeway
15Alexander Murray Ashmore10 September 19047 December 1906Henry Arthur Blake
Hugh Clifford3 May 1907
-Leonard William Booth30 June 191117 October 1913Henry McCallum
Edward Stubbs19131919Reginald Edward Stubbs
Graeme Thomson19191922William Manning
Cecil Clementi19221925
Murchison Fletcher19261929Hugh Clifford
Bernard Henry Bourdillon19291932Herbert Stanley
Chief Secretary of Ceylon (1932–1946)
Bernard Henry Bourdillon19321936Graeme Thomson
Francis Graeme Tyrrell19361939Edward Stubbs
Maxwell MacLagan Wedderburn19391940Andrew Caldecott
Guy Stanley Wodeman19401942
Robert Drayton[8]19421946

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Wrigh, Arnold (1999). Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon. Asian Educational Services. ISBN 9788120613355. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  2. 1 2 Mills, Lennox A (12 November 2012). Ceylon Under British Rule 1795-1932. Routledge. ISBN 9781136262715. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  3. ↑ Ubeywarna, D. L. (14 February 2004). "Lanka's journey to Independence, in retrospect: Impact of constitutional developments on nation - making". Daily News (Sri Lanka).
  4. ↑ "1942 Ferguson's Ceylon Directory". Ferguson's Directory. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  5. ↑ "Evolution of the Office of the Attorney General in Sri Lanka". attorneygeneral.gov.lk. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  6. ↑ Ferguson, John (1887). Ceylon in the "jubilee Year". J. Haddon and Co. pp. 256-7.
  7. ↑ Ceylon: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries and Resources. Plâté limited. 1924. pp. 100–1. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  8. ↑ "Sir Robert Drayton Dies". Retrieved 22 October 2020.


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