Type Civilian Total inductees 8 | Established 1986 | |
Sri Lankabhimanya (Sinhalese: ශ්රී ලංකාභිමාන්ය; Tamil: சிறீ லங்காபிமான்ய, Ciṟī Laṅkāpimāṉya; The Pride of Sri Lanka) is the highest national honour of Sri Lanka awarded by the President of Sri Lanka on behalf of the Government. It is the highest civil honour and is conferred upon "those who have rendered exceptionally outstanding and most distinguished service to the nation". The honour can only be held by five Sri Lankans contemporaneously, and may also be conferred posthumously. The honour is conventionally used as a title or prefix to the name of the person who receives the award. To date it has only been awarded eight times, since 1986. Currently, A. T. Ariyaratne and Lester James Perieshold the honour. The title is also referred to as Lankabhimanya (Pride of Lanka).