Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka Becomes the World's First Female Prime Minister
Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike made history on July 21, 1960, by becoming the world's first female prime minister in Sri Lanka. Born on April 17, 1916, in Ratnapura, she entered politics following the assassination of her husband, Solomon Bandaranaike, who had founded the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). Sirimavo led the SLFP to victory in the 1960 elections, promoting socialist reforms and pro-Buddhist policies during her tenure. Her leadership was marked by significant social and political challenges, including tensions between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil population over language policies. Bandaranaike served three non-consecutive terms, with her tenure characterized by the establishment of Sri Lanka as a republic in 1972 and a shift towards a more centralized executive power. Although she faced political setbacks and was temporarily barred from politics, she returned to prominence when her daughter, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, became prime minister in the 1990s. Sirimavo Bandaranaike's legacy continues to influence Sri Lankan politics, highlighting her role as a pioneering figure in women's leadership. She passed away on October 10, 2000, leaving behind a complex political legacy intertwined with her family's continued influence in the country.
Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka Becomes the World's First Female Prime Minister
Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka Becomes the World's First Female Prime Minister
Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka became the world's first female prime minister on July 21, 1960. She would hold office three times during her career.
The island nation of Sri Lanka, located just south of India in the Indian Ocean, was the home of the Sinhalese, a Buddhist people whose kingdom fell in the late 13th century. It was identified on European maps as Seylan from about the 15th century, and the name was later anglicized to Ceylon. By 1815 all of Ceylon, including the kingdom of Kandy, had become a British colony, until it became an independent dominion within the British Commonwealth of Nations on February 4, 1948. The first prime minister of Ceylon was Don Stephen Senanayake. After he was killed in an accident in 1952, his son Dudley succeeded him but was compelled to resign the following year. His cousin John Kotelawela took his place as prime minister.
Bandaranaike was born on April 17, 1916, in Ratnapura, Ceylon. She attended convent schools as a child and in 1940 married a politician named Solomon Bandaranaike. In 1951 he resigned from the cabinet and established the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). It was socialist, nationalist, and dominated by Sinhalese Buddhists, who constituted the majority of the country.
The SLFP was elected into power in 1956 with Solomon Bandaranaike at the head of a coalition government that was called the People's United Front. The new government's strong support for Buddhist and Sinhalese cultural activity caused some tension, which was inflamed when the government declared Sinhala the sole official language in 1958. The resulting unrest included the Tamil people struggling to have their own language given official recognition, trade union strikes, and fighting among Buddhist factions. Solomon Bandaranaike became a casualty of these conflicts when he was assassinated by an extremist Buddhist monk in September 1959.
His wife Sirimavo took his place as leader of the SLFP. The party was returned to power in the 1960 elections, and Bandaranaike became the first female prime minister in the world. She worked to promote more socialist reforms and endorsed pro-Buddhist policies. When the Tamils continued to protest the government's language policy, a state of emergency was declared and the Tamils' political activities were curbed. Bandaranaike formed a coalition government in 1964, but defections from the right wing of her own party forced a general election the following year, and the SLFP were defeated by the United National Party (UNP). Dudley Senanayake was returned as prime minister.
Bandaranaike returned to power in 1970. She continued to socialize the country's economy, and in 1972 her government promulgated a new constitution which established an executive presidency and turned Ceylon into a republic called Sri Lanka. Conflict within her coalition government forced Bandaranaike to call for general elections in July of 1977, after which the UNP returned to power. Bandaranaike was forced to step down as prime minister, although she retained a seat in the National Assembly. She was expelled from the Assembly and barred from politics in 1980 following charges of having abused her power when she was prime minister, but her right to participate in politics was restored in 1986.
Bandaranaike's daughter, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, was elected Prime Minister in August 1994. When she won the presidential election in November of that same year, she appointed her mother as prime minister, and Bandaranaike returned to power a final time. She continued in that role until failing health forced her to resign in October 2000. Shortly after voting in parliamentary elections, she suffered a heart attack and died on October 10, 2000, in Colombo, Sri Lanka.