1 Rupee President Jayewardene

This coin marks the creation of an executive presidency in Sri Lanka — a constitutional restructuring pushed through by J.R. Jayewardene in 1978 that concentrated power in the presidency to a degree unprecedented in the country's post-independence history. Jayewardene became the first holder of the new office, and the coin was issued specifically to commemorate that transition rather than as a routine circulating type.

The 1978 constitution remained in force, with amendments, for decades and proved deeply controversial, with critics arguing it laid the groundwork for later authoritarian drift under subsequent presidents.