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
Prime Minister of the Netherlands Dutch ministers used to be responsible to the Monarch and the ministers were taking turns to fill the position of the Prime Minister who had little if any control over the other ministers. The Prime Minister's role gained importance when ministers became responsible to the parliament and the position became mostly reserved for the leader of the biggest political party in the House of Representatives. Still, because the position holds limited powers compared to other neighboring parliamentary democracies, the Prime Minister role is described as "primus inter pares" ("first among equals"). Following the constitutional review of 1983, the position of