Ronnie Abeysinghe was the longest serving Serjeant-at-arms in the history of Sri Lanka. He held the position from 1970 to 1996. The current Serjeant-at-Arms is Anil P. Samarasekara. The Serjeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons is responsible for security matters concerning the House of Commons. The Serjeant, whilst in the Commons overseeing proceedings, can also escort MPs out of the chamber by order of the Speaker of the House. The post dates back to 1415, and has often been held by retired military or police figures (though in recent years those from a civil service background have been appointed). The current Serjeant-at-Arms is Ugbana Oyet (appointed in October 2019); he was previously an electrical engineer in Parliament. The equivalent officer for the House of Lords is the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod; there was formerly a separate Serjeant-at-Arms of the House of Lords, but the two appointments were merged in 1971 (since when the mace has routinely been carried by Black Rod's deputy, the Yeoman Usher). In addition to the above-mentioned officers there are other serjeants-at-arms who attend the sovereign on State occasions, a remnant of the body established by Richard I (though today their role is purely ceremonial). Usually, members of the Royal Household who serve as serjeants-at-arms have had the office bestowed on them as a mark of distinction for long and meritorious service. The mace serves as a symbol of royal and parliamentary authority. Ten maces are kept in the Jewel House at the Tower of London in addition to those kept by the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Lord Chancellor. As well as carrying their maces, on State occasions each serjeant-at-arms wears a collar of esses as a symbol of his or her office. The two houses of the United States Congress maintain the position of sergeant-at-arms. The sergeants are charged with the maintenance of order on the floor of the chamber (in the House, he may "display" the mace in front of an unruly member as an admonition to behave); they serve with the Architect of the Capitol on the commission that oversees the United States Capitol Police and security for the Congress, and they serve a variety of other functional and ceremonial roles. Other bodies—from state and local legislative houses (city councils, county legislatures and the like) to civic and social organizations—have created posts of sergeants-at-arms, primarily to enforce order at the direction of the chair and to assist in practical details of organizing meetings.