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World’s first woman prime minister
- Sirimavo Bandaranaike (born April 17, 1916, Ratnapura, Ceylon [now Sri Lanka]—died October 10, 2000, Colombo, Sri Lanka) was a 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.
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Political career. First female Prime Minister (1960–1965) Leader of the opposition (1965–1970) Second term (1970–1977) Party leader (1977–1988) Leader of the opposition (1989–1994) Third term (1994–2000) Death and legacy. Electoral history. Notes. References. Citations. Bibliography. External links. Sirimavo Bandaranaike.
Apr 13, 2024 · Sirimavo Bandaranaike (born April 17, 1916, Ratnapura, Ceylon [now Sri Lanka]—died October 10, 2000, Colombo, Sri Lanka) was a 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.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Nov 21, 2020 · Sirimavo Bandaranaike was elected the modern world's first female head of government in 1960 when she became prime minister of Sri Lanka, or Ceylon as it was known then. She entered...
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Mar 6, 2023 · 151K views 1 year ago Witness History. Sirimavo Bandaranaike was elected the modern world’s first female head of government in 1960, when she became the prime minister of Sri Lanka, or...
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- BBC World Service
- Overview
- HISTORY Vault: U.S. Presidents
The first woman in the modern world to run a country hailed from Southeast Asia. Many have followed.
The modern world’s first elected female head of government was Sirimavo Bandaranaike, who in 1960 became prime minister of Sri Lanka, the island nation in South Asia then known as Ceylon. Bandaranaike came to power a year after the assassination of her husband, who was prime minister at the time, and served in office from 1960 to 1965 and from 1970 to 1977.
The couple’s daughter, Chandrika Kumaratunga, also joined the family political dynasty and was Sri Lanka’s first woman president, from 1994 to 2005. Bandaranaike served a third term as prime minister (a role which by then was primarily ceremonial, as a result of a constitutional change) from 1994 until her resignation in August 2000; she died two months later of a heart attack at age 84.
The same decade Bandaranaike launched her political career, India and Israel each elected their first women prime ministers. Indira Gandhi, the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, held office from 1966 to 1977 and from 1980 until her assassination in 1984. Golda Meir, Israel’s only female prime minister so far, served from 1969 to 1974.
Groundbreaking Women in Politics
Four years later, in 1979, Britain chose its first woman prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, who was also the first female elected head of government in Europe. Nicknamed the Iron Lady, Thatcher remained in power until 1990, making her the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century.
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- Elizabeth Nix
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Jun 8, 2018 · Sirimavo Bandaranaike (born 1916) became the first woman prime minister in the world when she was chosen to head the Sri Lankan Freedom Party government in 1960, following the assassination of her husband. She pursued policies of nonalignment abroad and democratic socialism at home.
views 1,906,083 updated. Bandaranaike, Sirimavo (1916–2000) Sri Lankan politician and the first woman prime minister in the world, who led her country through a stressful period of national growth and raised Sri Lanka to a respectable position in the community of Asian nations. Name variations: Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike.
