Sirima Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike was born in Ratnapura, British Ceylon, the oldest of six children of an aristocratic Kandyan family. She grew up in political surroundings, her father was a member of the Ceylonese senate, and many of her relatives held high positions in the government.
At the age of 19, she became involved in social activities, collecting and distributing medicine and food to people in distant villages and improving the living conditions of women in those areas. She joined the Social Service League and served as its treasurer until she was married. In 1940, at the age of 24, she met Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike, S.W.R.D., a wealthy politician, and their wedding got referred to as “the event of the century.” For the next two decades, Bandaranaike devoted most of her time to raising her three children, helping her husband in his political activities, and continued with her volunteering work. She joined the Lanka Mahila Samiti – the largest women’s voluntary organization in Sri Lanka and served as its secretary. She also was an active member of various charities, including the Cancer Society, the Nurses Welfare Association, the All-Ceylon Buddhist Women’s Association, and the Ceylon National Association for the Prevention of Tuberculosis.
In 1950, following Sri Lanka’s independence from British rule, Bandaranaike’s husband had founded the nationalist Sri Lankan Freedom Party, SLFP, which took power in 1956. S.W.R.D. had served as the prime minister of Ceylon until his assassination by a Buddhist monk in 1959. Within a few months, she got elected as the SLFP leader, and when the party won the general elections of 1960, 44 years old, Bandaranaike became the first female prime minister of Sri Lanka and in the world. In addition to this position, she took on the role of Minister of Defense and External Affairs.
During her first term, she continued her husband’s social-economic policy and international relations plans. Her reforms benefited the native population, secured Buddhist statues, and made Sinhala the official language of Ceylon. In 1964, a continuing economic crisis and the SLFP coalition with the Marxist party had affected her popularity, and she lost the 1965 elections. She remained leader of the opposition, and by the next elections, Bandaranaike formed an agreement with the other left parties, which secured her win in 1970. In this term, she established a new constitution, removed British elements from governmental institutions, and changed the English name of Ceylon to its ancient name of Sri Lanka.
Economic stagnation and the government’s failure to suppress ethnic rivalries had resulted in a crushing defeat in the 1977 elections, in which SLFP won only eight seats out of 168. The new government set a commission to investigate claims against Bandaranaike, accusing her of misusing her position as prime minister for personal use. She was found guilty and was stripped of her civic rights and expelled from Parliament. However, in 1986, she was granted a pardon from the serving prime minister J.R. Jayawardene. Afterward, she unsuccessfully ran for the presidency in the 1989 elections but secured a seat in Parliament as the opposition leader.
In 1994, after 17 years out of office, 78 years old Bandaranaike made an unprecedented comeback when her daughter, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, won the presidential election (and became the first woman to serve in this position), appointed her as prime minister. In 2000, at the age of 84, Bandaranaike resigned from her post due to failing health. She died only a few months later of a heart attack.
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