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Bandaranaike attempted to reform the former Dominion of Ceylon into a socialist republic by nationalising organisations in the banking, education, industry, media and trade sectors.
He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1947 representing the United National Party from Attanagalla, which would become the political seat of his family for the next fifty years.
Sirimavo Bandaranaike, stateswoman who, upon her party’s victory in the 1960 general election in Ceylon (later Sri Lanka), became the world’s first woman prime minister. She left office in 1965 but returned to serve two more terms (1970–77, 1994–2000) as prime minister.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Four years later he formed the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP; People’s United Front), a political alliance of four nationalist-socialist parties, which swept the election; he became prime minister on April 12, 1956.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
When her husband became prime minister, Bandaranaike was active in Ceylon's main political women's organization, the Lanka Mahila Samiti; after his assassination (1959), she succeeded him as leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), then as prime minister (1960–65 and 1970–77).
A charismatic leader and a brilliant orator, he soon made a mark in politics as a strong opponent of the colonial administration and a committed advocate of 'self rule’, indigenous culture and language.
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Growing up, she was introduced to conservative politics by her father, a member of the town’s council, and formed her political tendencies and inspired her to become a Politician. She attended Huntingtower Road Primary School and later Kesteven and Grantham Girls’ School.
