| | Name | From Date | To Date | Party |
| 1 | Don Stephen Senanayake | 24 September 1947 | 22 March 1952 | United National Party |
| 2 | Dudley Shelton Senanayake | 26 March 1952 | 12 October 1953 | United National Party |
| 3 | John Lionel Kotalawela | 12 October 1953 | 12 April 1956 | United National Party |
| 4 | Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike | 12 April 1956 | 26 September 1959 | Sri Lanka Freedom Party |
| 5 | Wijeyananda Dahanayake | 26 September 1959 | 20 March 1960 | Sri Lanka Freedom Party |
| 6 | Dudley Shelton Senanayake | 21 March 1960 | 21 July 1960 | United National Party |
| 7 | Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike | 21 July 1960 | 25 March 1965 | Sri Lanka Freedom Party |
| 8 | Dudley Shelton Senanayake | 25 March 1965 | 29 May 1970 | United National Party |
| 9 | Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike | 29 May 1970 | 23 July 1977 | Sri Lanka Freedom Party |
| 10 | Junius Richard Jayewardene | 23 July 1977 | 4 February 1978 | United National Party |
| 11 | Ranasinghe Premadasa | 6 February 1978 | 2 January 1989 | United National Party |
| 12 | Dingiri Banda Wijetunge | 6 March 1989 | 7 May 1993 | United National Party |
| 13 | Ranil Wickremesinghe | 7 May 1993 | 19 August 1994 | United National Party |
| 14 | Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga | 19 August 1994 | 12 November 1994 | Sri Lanka Freedom Party |
| 15 | Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike | 14 November 1994 | 9 August 2000 | Sri Lanka Freedom Party |
| 16 | Ratnasiri Wickremanayake | 10 August 2000 | 7 December 2001 | Sri Lanka Freedom Party |
| 17 | Ranil Wickremesinghe | 9 December 2001 | 2 April 2004 | United National Party |
| 18 | Mahinda Rajapaksa | 6 April 2004 | 19 November 2005 | Sri Lanka Freedom Party |
| 19 | Ratnasiri Wickremanayake | 19 November 2005 | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | |