The 24th death anniversary of the late Sirimavo Bandaranaike
Today is the 24th death anniversary of the late Sirimavo Bandaranaike, the first woman Prime Minister of the world and the first Prime Minister of this country.
In 1959, after the sudden death of S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, Mrs. Bandaranaike took the oath as the Prime Minister on July 21, 1960.
She also became the first woman in the world to represent the Commonwealth Prime Ministers’ Conference in March 1961.
She served as Prime Minister from 1970 to 1977 and from 1994 until her death in 2000. On May 22, 1972, Mrs. Bandaranaike took the initiative to make Sri Lanka a socialist republic.
Through the Sirima-Shastri Agreement, Sirimavo Bandaranaike has worked to send back more than 300,000 Indians who were in this country.