Sri Lanka's Bandaranaike, World's First Woman Premier, Dies
October 12, 2000 - 0:0
COLOMBO Former Sri Lankan premier and the world's first woman prime minister, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, died on Tuesday at the age of 84, government officials said.
They said Bandaranaike, who stepped down as prime minister in August, died while on her way back to Colombo from her home district where she had gone to cast her vote in Tuesday's parliamentary elections.
The government made a statement on her death later in the day, officials told Reuters.
Bandaranaike, the mother of President Chandrika Kumaratunga, was thrice prime minister of Sri Lanka, after first assuming office 40 years ago.
Mrs. B, as she was affectionately called, stepped down on August 10 due to poor health. She spent most of her last years in a wheelchair unable to walk.
"The present state of my health does not permit me to actively participate in governmental activities nor in party politics," Bandaranaike said in a letter to her daughter.
She was replaced by Ratnasiri Wickremanayke days before Kumaratunga announced parliamentary polls after mounting opposition forced her to withdraw her new Constitution aimed at ending the country's long ethnic war.
Bandaranaike said she was stepping down to make way for someone who could campaign for the ruling people's alliance at the forthcoming elections as Kumaratunga's movements were to be restricted due to security concerns.
She made history on July 21 1960, when she was appointed prime minister of the Indian Ocean island. She ruled the country for 12 years between 1960 and 1977. Under a new constitution, the premiership then became largely ceremonial under the Executive Presidency.
Hailing from a wealthy feudal family, Bandaranaike became prime minister by accident.
She succeeded her husband Solomon, who was shot dead by a Buddhist monk at their home in a fashionable Colombo suburb in September 1959.
A shy housewife, she accepted a call by Solomon's supporters to head the Sri Lanka Freedom Party he founded and led it to victory in the July 1960 elections.
Following her husband's policy of nationalization, Bandaranaike was responsible for taking radical measures which altered the political and economic landscape of Sri Lanka.
She suffered a serious setback when the government of former president Junius Jayawardene expelled her from parliament in 1980 and stripped her of her civic rights for five years.
Apart from Kumaratunga, Bandaranaike leaves behind her son Anura, a senior leader of the main opposition United National Party, and another daughter Sunethra.
(Reuter)
They said Bandaranaike, who stepped down as prime minister in August, died while on her way back to Colombo from her home district where she had gone to cast her vote in Tuesday's parliamentary elections.
The government made a statement on her death later in the day, officials told Reuters.
Bandaranaike, the mother of President Chandrika Kumaratunga, was thrice prime minister of Sri Lanka, after first assuming office 40 years ago.
Mrs. B, as she was affectionately called, stepped down on August 10 due to poor health. She spent most of her last years in a wheelchair unable to walk.
"The present state of my health does not permit me to actively participate in governmental activities nor in party politics," Bandaranaike said in a letter to her daughter.
She was replaced by Ratnasiri Wickremanayke days before Kumaratunga announced parliamentary polls after mounting opposition forced her to withdraw her new Constitution aimed at ending the country's long ethnic war.
Bandaranaike said she was stepping down to make way for someone who could campaign for the ruling people's alliance at the forthcoming elections as Kumaratunga's movements were to be restricted due to security concerns.
She made history on July 21 1960, when she was appointed prime minister of the Indian Ocean island. She ruled the country for 12 years between 1960 and 1977. Under a new constitution, the premiership then became largely ceremonial under the Executive Presidency.
Hailing from a wealthy feudal family, Bandaranaike became prime minister by accident.
She succeeded her husband Solomon, who was shot dead by a Buddhist monk at their home in a fashionable Colombo suburb in September 1959.
A shy housewife, she accepted a call by Solomon's supporters to head the Sri Lanka Freedom Party he founded and led it to victory in the July 1960 elections.
Following her husband's policy of nationalization, Bandaranaike was responsible for taking radical measures which altered the political and economic landscape of Sri Lanka.
She suffered a serious setback when the government of former president Junius Jayawardene expelled her from parliament in 1980 and stripped her of her civic rights for five years.
Apart from Kumaratunga, Bandaranaike leaves behind her son Anura, a senior leader of the main opposition United National Party, and another daughter Sunethra.
(Reuter)