Sirimavo Bandaranaike: First woman

premier in world history

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Contents

1 Early life

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2 Political career
2.1Husband's premiership
2.2First term
2.3Pact with India
2.4Second term
2.5Opposition
2.6Third term
References

Early life
Sirimavo Bandaranaike was born on 17 April 1916, as Sirima Ratwatte to a
prominent Radala family, who were descended from Ratwatte Dissawa, Dissawa of Matale,
a signatory on behalf of the Sinhalese to the Kandyan Convention of 1815. Born to Barnes
Ratwatte, Dissawa of Sabaragamuwa and Rosalind Mahawelatenne Kumarihamy of
Mahawelatenne Walauwa, Balangoda, she was the eldest of six, with four brothers and one
sister. Her father was member of the State Council and the Senate of Ceylon. Her brothers
were Justice Barnes Ratwatte II, Dr Seevali Ratwatte, Dr Mackie Ratwatte (who served as
her Private Security during her premiership) and Clifford Ratwatte, former Member of
Parliament for Balangoda and Chairman of the State Plantations and Sri Lanka Tea Board.
Her youngest sister Patsy Ratwatte was married to Colonel Edward James Divitotawela,
who established the Central Command of theCeylon Army.
Bandaranaike was educated at St Bridget's Convent, Colombo, but was a
practising Buddhist. In 1940 she marriedSolomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike, a
member of the State council and son of Sir Solomon Dias Bandaranaike, the Maha
Mudaliyar (chief native interpreter and advisor to the Governor). They had three
children,Sunethra, Chandrika, and Anura.

Political career
Husband's premiership
Her husband Solomon was a founding member of the United National Party (UNP) in 1946
and was elected to the House of Representatives (elected lower house of Parliament) in
the first elections of the Dominion of Ceylon in 1947. Breaking away from the UNP he went
on to form the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and became its leader. A coalition led by
the SLFP won a majority in the House of Representatives in 1956 general election and
Solomon became Prime Minister. After initiating much change on socialist and nationalistic
lines, he had his tenure cut short three years later when he was assassinated by a
Buddhist monk on 26 September 1959. The assassination created a power vacuum, due to
Solomon's likely successor C. P. de Silva (leader of the House of Representatives and
Finance Minister) being gravely ill and in London for treatment at the time. Wijeyananda
Dahanayake, Minister of Education, was appointed caretaker Prime Minister. Turmoil in the
government followed as Dahanayake sacked and appointed ministers. This led to a defeat
of the SLFP in the March 1960 elections.
[3]

First term

During this time Sirimavo was brought forward as legitimate successor to her husband's
party leadership and she entered politics. In 1960 M. P. de Zoysa Jnr stepped down from
his seat in the Senate (appointed upper house of Parliament) paving the way for Sirimavo
to be appointed as a member of the Senate from the SLFP. She led her party to win
the July 1960 elections on the pledge to continue her husband's policies, notably
the Sinhala Only Act, and to proceed with repatriation of the estate Tamils to India. On 21
July 1960, as a Senator she became prime minister, thus becoming the first female prime
minister in the world.
Known to her fellow Sri Lankans as "Mrs. B," she could skillfully use popular emotion to
boost her support, frequently bursting into tears as she pledged to continue her
assassinated husband's policies. Her opponents and critics called her the "weeping widow",
saying she got herself nominated a Senator and made head of her husband's party after
his death by making capital out of his death, going around to different villages and weeping
over their children.
Bandaranaike was a socialist who continued her husband's policies of nationalizing key
sectors of the economy, such as banking and insurance, and also nationalizing all schools
then owned by the Roman Catholic Church in 1961. Bandaranaike was on a roller-coaster
ride from the moment she took office. Within a year of her 1960 election victory she
declared a "state of emergency". This followed a civil disobedience campaign by part of the
country's minority Tamilpopulation who were outraged by her decision to drop English as an
official language and her order to conduct all government business in Sinhala, the language
of the majority Sinhalese. This they considered a highly discriminatory act and an attempt
to deny Tamils access to all official posts and the law. This led to an increase in Tamil
militancy which escalated under succeeding administrations.
[4]

Further problems arose with the state takeover of foreign businesses, particularly
petroleum companies, which upset the United States and Britain; they ended aid to Sri
Lanka. As a result, Bandaranaike moved her country closer to China and the Soviet
Union and championed a policy of nonalignment. At home, she crushed an attempted
military coup by Christian officers in 1962 and appointed her uncle William
Gopallawa Governor-General of Ceylon. In 1964, she entered into a historic coalition with
the Marxist Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP). At the end of 1964, she lost a vote of
confidence. The SLFP coalition was defeated in the 1965 elections, ending her first term as
Prime Minister.

Pact with India

Under the terms of the 1964 agreement with India, 600,000 Indian Tamils were to be
repatriated, while 375,000 were to be granted Sri Lankan citizenship. By 31 October 1981,
when the two countries were to have settled this issue, India had taken more than 300,000
persons as repatriates. Sri Lanka had granted citizenship to over 185,000 plus over 62,000
post-1964 offspring. Over 207,000 Indian Tamils in Sri Lanka before 1964, plus nearly
45,000 offspring, were granted Indian citizenship but still awaited repatriation. In the wake
of the July 1983 anti-Tamil violence, some in this latter group are being processed for
repatriation or have emigrated to India.
With the lapse of the 1964 agreement India declined to consider any more applications for
citizenship. The government of Sri Lanka believes that the 1964 pact remains in force until
the citizenship cases and permanent residence of all Indian Tamils covered by the pact
have been settled. The All-Party Conference has agreed that the government should grant
Sri Lankan citizenship to stateless Indian Tamils who did not apply for Indian citizenship
and were not granted Sri Lankan citizenship under the 1964 agreement.
[citation needed]

Second term
She regained power after the United Front coalition (SLFP, LSSP, and the Communists)
won the 1970 elections with a large majority. But after just 16 months in power, the

government was almost toppled by the 1971 JVP Insurrection of left-wing youths.
Bandaranaike had disbanded the government's intelligence service, suspecting that it was
loyal to the opposition United National Party (UNP). Thus there was no warning of the
uprising, and Sri Lanka's small army was caught off guard. The army mobilized its reserves
and held the capital, but some outlying areas were occupied by the insurgents. The
government was saved by military aid from both India and Pakistan, thanks to
Bandaranaike's skillful foreign policy. In those tough political years, she turned herself into a
formidable leader. "She was the only man in her cabinet", one of her officials commented
during the height of the insurgency.
Her second term saw a new constitution introduced in 1972, replacing the Soulbury
constitution. Ceylon was renamed Sri Lanka and became a republic. The 1973 oil crisis had
a traumatic effect on the Sri Lankan economy: the government had no access to Western
aid and her socialist policies stifled economic activity. Rationing had to be imposed.
Bandaranaike became more and more intolerant of criticism and forced the shut-down of
the Independent newspaper group, whose publications were her fiercest critics. Earlier she
had nationalized the country's largest newspaper, Lake House, which has remained the
government's official mouthpiece. Bandaranaike enjoyed continued success in foreign
affairs. She was chosen chairwoman of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1976, and hosted
the Movement's conference, attended by numerous heads of state. Despite her high
international standing, she was losing Sri Lankan support rapidly amid allegations of
corruption and against the background of a rapidly declining economy.
Under the Soulbury constitution, election would have been held in 1975. However, the
government had become very unpopular. Bandaranaike used a clause of the 1972
constitution to delay elections until 1977. This did not help and in the 1977 elections the
United Front was routed, winning only 8 seats.

Opposition
Bandaranaike held her own seat in 1977, but in 1980, she was charged with abuse of
power for the 197577 delay in elections. She was expelled from parliament and banned
from public office for seven years.The 1980s were her dark days. She became a political
outcast, rejected by the people who had once worshipped her. Bandaranaike spent the next
seventeen years in opposition warding off challenges to her leadership of the SLFP, even
from her own children. Always the politician, she played her ambitious
daughter Chandrika and son Anura against one another, holding on to party control despite
losing every subsequent general election.

Third term
In 1994, the SLFP-led coalition won the general elections. Chandrika then outmanoeuvred
her mother to become prime minister; and then was elected President the same year.
Bandaranaike became prime minister again, but the constitution had changed since her last
tenure. As prime minister she was now subordinate to her daughter, the President. She
remained in office till a few months before her death, but had little real power. She died on
Election Day, 10 October 2000, after having cast her vote for the last time.

References
1.
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3.
4.

Jump up^ "Sirimavo R.D. Bandaranaike (prime minister of Sri Lanka)". BRITANNICA-Online.
Jump up^ "Sirimavo Bandaranaike: First woman premier". BBC News. 10 October 2000.
Jump up^ S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, Prime minister of Sri Lanka
Jump up^ Sinhala Without Tears, TIME Magazine, 5 May 1961