First Female Prime Minister of the World – Political Career

Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s life changed when her husband was killed in 1959. She took over his role in politics and lead the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. The next year, she became Sri Lanka’s first female Prime Minister. She continued her husband’s policies, focusing on socialism, neutrality in foreign affairs, and promoting Buddhism and Sinhalese culture.

  • Her government took control of many businesses and declared Sinhalese as the only official language.
  • However, for so many economic problems and withdrawned support of alliances to made her weak.
  • She lost the 1965 election.
  • In 1970, her socialist group won back power, and she became Prime Minister again.
  • This time, she enacted even more radical policies, like nationalizing industries and changing the country’s constitution.
  • Although these moves reduced wealth inequality, they also caused economic issues and worsened tensions with the Tamil minority.
  • Her party faced a huge defeat in the 1977 election, and she lost her position as Prime Minister.
  • In 1980, she was banned from politics, but later received a pardon in 1986.
  • She tried to become President in 1988 but was unsuccessful.
  • Her children also became prominent in politics.
  • Her son, Anura, initially a member of her party, later switched sides due to differences with his sister Chandrika.

First Female Prime Minister of the World

Srimati Sirimavo Bandaranaike was the first woman Prime Minister in the World. She took office in Sri Lanka (then called the Dominion of Ceylon) in 1960 and belonged to the Sri Lanka Freedom Party from 1960 to 1994. She served three times as the prime minister of Ceylon (Present Sri Lanka) while Chandrika Kumaratunga was the president of the country.

In this article, we are going to discuss the First Female Prime Minister of the World, with her life and career in detail.

Table of Content

  • First Female Prime Minister of the World – Overview
  • First Female Prime Minister of the World – Social Work and Family
  • First Female Prime Minister of the World – Political Career
  • First Female Prime Minister of the World – Terms
  • Establishment Of Ministry of Women and Child Affairs
  • Death and Legacy

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First Female Prime Minister of the World – Overview

Sirimavo Bandaranaike was born in 1916 in Sri Lanka. She belonged to a respected family. Even though she went to English schools she stayed always true and followed her Buddhist beliefs throughout her life. She was able to speak both Sinhala and English well which helped her become a respected leader later. Here is a detailed overview of her life as mentioned below....

First Female Prime Minister of the World – Social Work and Family

Before joining the politics, Sirimavo Bandaranaike worked on helping rural Sri Lankan women and girls. She also took care of her family. After some years, she married Solomon Bandaranaike who was a well-known politician at that time. After finishing the secondary school, she did social work and supported her husband’s political career. When her husband was killed in 1959, she joined in politics. She took over his party and won the election in 1960. Later, she became the main opposition leader. After this, she won with a big majority in 1970 by forming a cleverly structured election alliance with Marxist political parties....

First Female Prime Minister of the World – Political Career

Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s life changed when her husband was killed in 1959. She took over his role in politics and lead the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. The next year, she became Sri Lanka’s first female Prime Minister. She continued her husband’s policies, focusing on socialism, neutrality in foreign affairs, and promoting Buddhism and Sinhalese culture....

First Female Prime Minister of the World – Terms

Sirimavo Bandaranaike was prime minister of Sri Lanka three times. Let’s talk about the important things that happened during each of her terms....

Establishment Of Ministry of Women and Child Affairs

Sirimavo Bandaranaike, the world’s first female prime minister, cared deeply about women and children. In 1975, she created the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs in Sri Lanka, showing her commitment to helping those who needed it most. She also held positions as the Minister of Defence and External Affairs of Sri Lanka....

Death and Legacy

Sirimavo Bandaranaike passed away on October 10th, 2000, from a heart attack while returning home from voting in the parliamentary election. Sri Lanka mourned for two days, with state radio playing sad music. Her body was kept in the parliament building before her funeral at Horagolla, where she was buried beside her husband. During a time when people doubted women’s ability to lead a country, Bandaranaike proved them wrong. Her children also played important roles in Sri Lanka’s development. Despite challenges, the Bandaranaike family contributed to breaking social barriers in Sri Lanka through their socialist policies. In 2023, a documentary called “Our Mother, Grandmother, Prime Minister: Sirimavo” came out. It talked about her life, with input from her family and government officials. The documentary won the Best Documentary award at the 21st Dhaka International Film Festival....

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