The Kala Keerthi (Sinhala: කලා කීර්ති) is a Sri Lankan national honour awarded "for extraordinary achievements and contributions in arts, culture and drama".^[1] It is the highest national honour for arts, culture and drama in Sri Lanka. It is conventionally used as a title or prefix to the awardee's name. Kala Keerthi ranks lower than Vidya Jyothi.

Awardees

Awardees include: ^[2]

1986

• Wannakuwattawaduge Don Amaradeva
• Rohan de Saram
• Dayananda Ekanatha Hettiarachchi
• George Keyt
• Lester James Peries

1987

• Ananda Weihena Palliya Guruge
• Prof Nandadasa Kodagoda
• Anton Wickremasinghe

1988

• Prof Thomas Earle Joseph de Fonseka
• Dr Punchi Bandara Sannasgala
• Varindra Tarzie Vittachi

1989

• Eileen Siriwardhana
• Alankarage Victor Suraweera
• Lorna Srimathie Dewaraja
• Jinadasa Vijayatunge

1990

• Miniwandeni Pathirannehelage Tillakaratna
• Arumugam Kandiah

1991

• Wimal Abayasundera
• Diongu Badaturuge Nihalsinghe

1992

• Edwin Ariyadasa
• Ananda Salgado Kulasooriya

1993

• Sembuge Shelton Gamini Fonseka
• Miguel Hewage Goonatilleka
• Chitra Malinee Jayasinghe Peris
• Ponniah Poologasingham
• Jayadeva Tilakasiri
• Vini Vitharana

1994

• Pinnaduwa Hewa Cyril de Silva Kulathilaka
• Chitrasena
• Swarna Jayaweera
• Sinnathamby Thillainathan
• Madawala Sirisena Ratnayake
• Wimal Wickrama Surendra
• Mawanana Hewa Peter Silva
• Anuradha Seneviratne
• Nambukara Thanthrige Karunaratna Gunapala Senadheera
• Ashley Halpe

1998

• Premasiri Kemadasa^[3]
• Irangani Serasinghe
• Regi Siriwardena
• Dharmasiri Jayakody
• Nalini Jayasuriya

2005

• A. J. Canagarathnam
• A. Jesurasa
• A. Sivananthan
• Asoka Handagama
• Bharahmasri Sarveswara Sarma
• Carl Muller
• Dharmasena Pathiraja
• Dharmasiri Bandaranayake
• Enid Anula Aluvihare De Silva
• Gamini Haththotuwegama
• Geetha Kumarasinghe
• Gnarathan
• Henry Jayasena
• Jackson Anthony
• Jayalath Manoratne
• Karthigesu Sivathamby
• Kulanthai M. shunmugalingam
• Latha Walpola
• M. Kanakasabai
• Malini Fonseka
• Monica Ruwanpathirana (Posthumous)
• Olga De Livera
• T. B. Richard M. Don Gabriel
• Pandithar Sachchithanantham
• Prasanna Vithanage
• Rohana Weerasinghe
• S. Maunaguru
• S. Pani Bharatha (Posthumous)
• Sanath Gunathilake
• Sanath Nandasiri
• Santhini Sevanesan
• Shyam Selvadurai
• Sybil Wettasinghe
• Simon Navagattegama (Posthumous)
• Somalatha Subasinghe
• Sri Jayana Rajapakse
• Sumitra Peries
• Swarna Mallawarachchi
• Tilak Abeysinghe
• Tissa Ranasinghe
• Vimukthi Jayasundara
• Vasantha Obeysekera

2017 ^[4]

• Arun Dias Bandaranaike
• Edmand Ranasinghe
• G. Kartini Drahaman Mohamed
• George Edmond Jayasinghe
• Gunawardhana Mudalige Ajith Hemachandra
• Hapuwalanege Don Ariyadasa (Dasa Hapuwalana)
• Herman Ronald Lakshman De Alwis
• Ivor Dennis
• Kurukulasuriya Eligius Camillus Perera
• Lalitha Sarathchandra
• Lionel Bentharage
• Madhubhashini Disanayaka Ratnayaka
• Namel Weeramuni
• Nanayakkarage Sumana Jayatillake
• Nellampitiya Pathirana Arachchige Dayawathi (Daya Nellampitiya)
• Ranasinghe Arachchige Jayantha Prema Lal Hegoda
• Saravanai Vinayagamoorthy
• Singarampillai Thillanadarajah
• Suminda Sirisena
• Suresh Maliyadde
• Sunanda Mahendra
• Wijesinghe Arachchilage Abeysingha