Postmaster General of Sri Lanka
The Postmaster General of Sri Lanka is the appointed head of Sri Lanka Post, which is a government department. The current Postmaster General is Ranjith Ariyaratne.
| Postmaster General of Sri Lanka | |
|---|---|
Incumbent Ranjith Ariyaratne since 14 August 2018 | |
| Sri Lanka Post | |
| Formation | 1815 |
| First holder | Egbert Bletterman |
History
In 1815, the British took control of the entire country. They re-organised the postal service and a permanent Post Office was established in Colombo in 1882. The first Post Master General of Ceylon was A. Kennedy an Army Officer. However as far back as 1815 there has been Post Masters General; E. Bletterman was the PMG for the whole island. Thereafter in 1817, Lewis Sansoni succeeded Bletterman as the second Postmaster General. The third Postmaster General was Major George Stewart and during his period he was instrumental in extending the postal services to major towns in the country.
List of Postmasters General of Sri Lanka
| # | Postmaster General | Took office | Left office | Appointed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Egbert Bletterman | 1815 | 1817 | Robert Brownrigg | first official Postmaster General |
| 2 | Louis Sansoni | 1817 | 1826 | ||
| 3 | George William Stewart | 1826 | 1833 | Edward Barnes | |
| 4 | George Lee | 1833 | 1859 | Robert Wilmot-Horton | longest serving Postmaster General |
| 5 | William Barton | 1859 | 1867 | Charles Justin MacCarthy | |
| 6 | Herbert Webb Gillman | 1867 | 1871 | Hercules Robinson | |
| 7 | Thomas Edward Barnes Skinner | 1871 | 1896 | ||
| 8 | Charles Edward Ducat Pennycuick | 1896 | 1899 | Joseph West Ridgeway | |
| 9 | Henry Luttrell Moysey | 1900 | 1906 | ||
| 10 | Arthur Sampson Pagden | 1906 | 1913 | Henry Arthur Blake | |
| 11 | Francis Jagoe Smith | 1913 | 1923 | Reginald Edward Stubbs | |
| 12 | Maurice Salvador Sreshta | 1923 | 1928 | William Henry Manning | first non-European Postmaster General |
| 13 | Harry Archibald Burden | 1929 | 1933 | Herbert Stanley | |
| 14 | John Radley Walters | 1933 | 1940 | Reginald Edward Stubbs | |
| 15 | John Pringle Appleby | 1940 | 1947 | Andrew Caldecott | |
| 15 | Abdon Ignatius Perera | 1947 | 1951 | Henry Monck-Mason Moore | first Ceylonese Postmaster General |
| 16 | Victor A. Nicholas | 1951 | 1956 | second Ceylonese Postmaster General | |
| 17 | H. E. Seneviratne | 1956 | 1961 | ||
| 18 | D. G. Dayaratne | 1961 | 1962 | ||
| 19 | A. S. Kohomban-Wickrema | 1962 | 1964 | ||
| 20 | A. L. Perera | 1964 | 1968 | ||
| 21 | G. E. de S. Ellawala | 1968 | 1968 | ||
| 22 | Vernon Abeysekera | 1969 | 1970 | ||
| 23 | C. J. Serasinghe | 1970 | 1973 | ||
| 24 | A. R. M. Jayawardene | 1973 | 1980 | ||
| 25 | A. P. Hapudeniya | 1980 | 1984 | ||
| 26 | U. W. Bandara | 1985 | 1986 | ||
| 27 | A. B. Damunupola | 1986 | - | ||
| 28 | K. A. S. Senadheera | ||||
| 29 | M. K. B. Dissanayake | 2008 | 2012 | ||
| 30 | D. L. P. Rohana Abhayaratne | 2012 | 10 July 2018 | ||
| 31 | Ranjith Ariyaratne | 14 August 2018 | Incumbent |