Republic Building, Colombo
| Republic Building | |
|---|---|
 Republic Building | |
| General information | |
| Town or city | Colombo |
| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Client | Government of Sri Lanka |
The Republic Building, is the building that houses the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in southern wing and the Cabinet Office in its northern wing. Situated in the Colombo fort in close proximity to the President's House, Colombo. It was known as the Senate Building till 1972.
Building
The building was built in during the British colonial era to house the Legislative Council of Ceylon which it did until January 29, 1930 when a new building was open for the use of the Legislative Council that later became the State Council of Ceylon. Since then till Ceylon's Independence in 1948 the building housed several government departments. Following independence the building became home to the Senate of Ceylon, Prime Minister's Office, Cabinet office and the Ministry of External Affairs and Defence. Housing the cabinet room which was said to be the most beautiful in the commonwealth and the cabinet office. It was renamed as the Republic Building following Sri Lanka becoming a republic in 1972.
From 1977 it was used by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after the Ministry of External Affairs and Defence was split and the Ministry of Defence moved to Echelon square.
Republic Square
The Republic Building is situated along what was once Queen's Street facing the Gordon Gardens across the road. At the northern end of the building the Queen's Street met Church Street. The section of the road between the Church Street juncture and Sir Baron Jayathilaka Mawatha (Street) juncture has been closed off and has seen been known as the Republic Square. Due to security reasons it has been off limits for the public.