Sirimavo Bandaranaike

She married the famous statesman and politician Solomon Bandaranaike in 1940. The three children of the couple are Anura, Chandrika and Sunethra. While the eldest daughter Sunethra is a philanthropist, Anura and Chandrika are both established names in Sri Lankan politics.

She succumbed to a heart attack shortly after casting her vote on October 10, 2000 in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

She was born Sirima Ratwatte on April 17, 1916, in an affluent and notable family to Barnes Ratwatte and Rosalind Mahawelatenne Kumarihamy, as their eldest child among two daughters and four sons.

Political environment prevailed in her house since her childhood as her father Barnes Ratwatte was a member of the Senate and also the State Council of Ceylon.

She was a descendant of the eminent Radala family, one of whose descendants the Dissawa of Matale, Ratwatte Dissawa was a signatory to the ‘Kandyan Convention’.

She attended a Roman Catholic convent, ‘St Bridget's Convent’ in Colombo.

Her siblings were all well established personalities in political and other spheres of Sri Lanka.

She had a sudden entry in politics in 1960 after her husband Solomon Bandaranaike, also referred as S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, the then Prime Minister of Ceylon, was assassinated by a Buddhist monk on September 26, 1959.

Solomon, a charismatic leader, was a founding member of ‘Union National Party’ (‘UNP’) who later parted ways from the party to form ‘Sri Lanka Freedom Party’ (‘SLFP’) and remained its leader until death.

In 1956 Solomon became Prime Minister, but before he could complete his term he was assassinated. The assassination created a sudden power crisis leading to a brief political turmoil. The subsequent March 1960 elections saw ‘SLFP’ being defeated by ‘UNP’. This is when Sirimavo was chosen as the legitimate successor of Solomon as the party leader by ‘SLFP’.

Although the March 1960 elections saw formation of a minority government of ‘UNP’, its inability to retain power led to July 1960 elections. During July elections, Sirimavo led her party from the front that resulted in ‘SLFP’ achieving a parliamentary majority.

On July 21, 1960 she became the Prime Minister of Ceylon, making history as the first woman to hold such position in the world. She held office till March 25, 1965.