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:

# Colonial Secretary Took office Left office Appointed by
Colonial Secretary of Ceylon (1798–1932)
1 Hugh Cleghorn 12 October 1798 January 1800 Frederick North
- William Boyd January 1800 September 1801
2 Robert Arbuthnot 10 September 1801 1806
3 John Rodney 3 September 1806 1833 Thomas Maitland
4 Philip Anstruther 1 May 1833 1845 Robert Wilmot-Horton
5 James Emerson Tennent 29 November 1845 1851 Colin Campbell
6 Charles Justin MacCarthy 2 January 1851 1860 George Byng
7 William Charles Gibson 10 August 1860 1869 Charles Edmund Wilkinson
8 Henry Turner Irving 4 June 1869 1873 Hercules Robinson
10 Arthur Birch 3 June 1873 1878 William Henry Gregory
11 John Douglas 18 August 1878 1885 James Robert Longden
12 Cecil Clementi Smith 17 November 1885 1887 Arthur Hamilton-Gordon
13 Edward Noël Walker 10 November 1887 1901 Arthur Hamilton-Gordon
14 Everard im Thurn 18 June 1901 1904 Joseph West Ridgeway
15 Alexander Murray Ashmore 10 September 1904 7 December 1906 Henry Arthur Blake
Hugh Clifford 3 May 1907
- Leonard William Booth 30 June 1911 17 October 1913 Henry McCallum
Edward Stubbs 1913 1919 Reginald Edward Stubbs
Graeme Thomson 1919 1922 William Manning
Cecil Clementi 1922 1925
Murchison Fletcher 1926 1929 Hugh Clifford
Bernard Henry Bourdillon 1929 1932 Herbert Stanley
Chief Secretary of Ceylon (1932–1946)
Bernard Henry Bourdillon 1932 1936 Graeme Thomson
Francis Graeme Tyrrell 1936 1939 Edward Stubbs
Maxwell MacLagan Wedderburn 1939 1940 Andrew Caldecott
Guy Stanley Wodeman 1940 1942
Robert Drayton[8] 1942 1946

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Wrigh, Arnold (1999). Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon. Asian Educational Services. ISBN 9788120613355. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  2. ^ a b 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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