Dominion of Ceylon February 1948, with an amended constitution taking effect on the same date. Independence was granted under the Ceylon Independence Act 1947. Military treaties with the United Kingdom preserved intact British air and sea bases in the country; British officers also continued to fill most of the upper ranks of the Ceylon Army. Don Senanayake became the first Prime Minister of Ceylon. Later in 1948, when Ceylon applied for United Nations membership, the Soviet Union vetoed the application. This was partly because the Soviet Union believed that the Ceylon was only nominally independent, and the British still exercised control over it
Governor-General of Ceylon absence of the governor-general, the Chief Justice of Ceylon became acting Governor-General. There were four governors-general. Sir Henry Monck-Mason Moore became the last Governor of Ceylon and first governor-general when the "Ceylon Order in Council", the first constitution of independent Ceylon came into effect. He was followed by Lord Soulbury, thereafter by Sir Oliver Goonetilleke the first Ceylonese to be appointed to the post. When William Gopallawa was appointed as Governor-General in 1962, he discarded the ceremonial uniform of office. When Ceylon became a republic in 1972 the post was replaced by the office of President of Sri Lanka. The