William Gopallawa

His Excellency William Gopallawa MBE
විලියම් ගොපල්ලව வில்லியம் கோப்பல்லாவ
Gopallawa in 1961
1st President of Sri Lanka
In office 22 May 1972 – 4 February 1978
Prime Minister	Sirimavo Bandaranaike Junius Richard Jayewardene
Preceded by	Office established (Elizabeth II as Queen of Ceylon)
Succeeded by	Junius Richard Jayewardene
4th Governor-General of Ceylon
In office 2 March 1962 – 22 May 1972
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Sirimavo Bandaranaike Dudley Senanayake
Preceded by	Sir Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke
Succeeded by	Office abolished (Himself as President of Sri Lanka)
5th Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement
In office 16 August 1976 – 4 February 1978
Preceded by	Houari Boumédienne
Succeeded by	Junius Richard Jayawardene
Personal details
Born	(1896-09-17)17 September 1896 Matale, British Ceylon
Died	31 January 1981(1981-01-31) (aged 84) Colombo, Sri Lanka
Political party	Independent
Spouse	Seelawathie Rambukwella ​ ​ (m. 1928; died 1977)​
Children	5
Alma mater	Dharmaraja College St. Anthony’s College

William Gopallawa MBE (Sinhala: විලියම් ගොපල්ලව, Tamil: வில்லியம் கோப்பல்லாவ; 17 September 1896 – 31 January 1981) was the last Governor-General of Ceylon from 1962 to 1972 and the first and only non-executive President of Sri Lanka from 1972 to 1978, when Ceylon declared itself a republic and changed its name to Sri Lanka.

Gopallawa served as Governor-General during the tenure of three different governments, two headed by Sirimavo Bandaranaike of the SLFP and one headed by Dudley Senanayake of the UNP.