Sirimavo Bandaranaike

The Honourable Sirimavo Bandaranaike MP
Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
In office 14 November 1994 – 10 August 2000
President	Chandrika Kumaratunga
Preceded by	Chandrika Kumaratunga
Succeeded by	Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
In office 22 May 1972 – 23 July 1977
President	William Gopallawa
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	J. R. Jayewardene
Prime Minister of Ceylon
In office 29 May 1970 – 22 May 1972
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor General	William Gopallawa
Preceded by	Dudley Senanayake
Succeeded by	Position abolished
In office 21 July 1960 – 25 March 1965
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor General	Oliver Goonetilleke William Gopallawa
Preceded by	Dudley Senanayake
Succeeded by	Dudley Senanayake
Leader of the Opposition
In office 9 March 1989 – 24 June 1994
Prime Minister	Dingiri Banda Wijetunga Ranil Wickremasinghe
Preceded by	Anura Bandaranaike
Succeeded by	Gamini Dissanayake
In office 5 April 1965 – 25 March 1970
Prime Minister	Dudley Senanayake
Preceded by	Dudley Senanayake
Succeeded by	J. R. Jayewardene
Chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party
In office 1960–1994
Preceded by	C. P. de Silva
Succeeded by	Chandrika Kumaratunga
Member of the Sri Lankan Parliament for Attanagalla
In office 22 March 1965 – 1980
Preceded by	James Obeysekera
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Personal details
Born	(1916-04-17)17 April 1916 Ceylon
Died	10 October 2000(2000-10-10) (aged 84) Colombo, Sri Lanka
Political party	Sri Lanka Freedom Party
Spouse(s)	Solomon Bandaranaike (1899–1959)
Children	Sunethra Chandrika Anura
Religion	Theravada Buddhism

Sirima Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike (Sinhalese: සිරිමා රත්වත්තේ ඩයස් බණ්ඩාරනායක, Tamil: சிறிமா ரத்வத்தே டயஸ் பண்டாரநாயக்கே; 17 April 1916 – 10 October 2000), commonly known as Sirimavo Bandaranaike (the suffix "vo" denotes respect), was a Sri Lankan stateswoman and politician and the modern world's first female head of government. She served as Prime Minister of Ceylon and Sri Lanka three times, 1960–65, 1970–77 and 1994–2000, and was a long-time leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party.

Bandaranaike was the widow of a previous Sri Lankan prime minister, Solomon Bandaranaike, and the mother of Sri Lanka's fourth Executive President, Chandrika Kumaratunga, as well as Anura Bandaranaike, former speaker and cabinet minister.^[1][2]

Early life

Sirimavo Bandaranaike was born on 17 April 1916, as Sirima Ratwatte to a prominent Radala family, who were descended from Ratwatte Dissawa, Dissawa of Matale, a signatory on behalf of the Sinhalese to the Kandyan Convention of 1815. Born to Barnes Ratwatte, Dissawa of Sabaragamuwa and Rosalind Mahawelatenne Kumarihamy of Mahawelatenne Walauwa, Balangoda, she was the eldest of six, with four brothers and one sister. Her father was member of the State Council and the Senate of Ceylon. Her brothers where Justice Barnes Ratwatte II, Dr Seevali Ratwatte, Dr Mackie Ratwatte (who served as her Private Security during her premiership) and Clifford Ratwatte, former Member of Parliament for Balangoda and Chairman of the State Plantations and Sri Lanka Tea Board. Her youngest sister Patsy Ratwatte was married to Colonel Edward James Divitotawela, who established the Central Command of the Ceylon Army.

Bandaranaike was educated at St Bridget's Convent, Colombo, but was a practising Buddhist. In 1940 she married Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike, a member of the State council and son of Sir Solomon Dias Bandaranaike, the Maha Mudaliyar (chief native interpreter and advisor to the Governor). They had three children, Sunethra, Chandrika, and Anura.

Political career

Husband's premiership

Her husband Solomon was a founding member of the United National Party (UNP) in 1946 and was elected to the House of Representatives (elected lower house of Parliament) in the first elections of the Dominion of Ceylon in 1947. Breaking away from the UNP he went on to form the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and became its leader.^[3] A coalition led by the SLFP won a majority in the House of Representatives in 1956 general election and Solomon became Prime Minister. After initiating much change on socialist and nationalistic lines, he had his tenure cut short three years later when he was assassinated by a Buddhist monk on 26 September 1959. The assassination created a power vacuum, due to Solomon's likely successor C. P. de Silva (leader of the House of Representatives and Finance Minister) being gravely ill and in London for treatment at the time. Wijeyananda Dahanayake, Minister of Education, was appointed caretaker Prime Minister. Turmoil in the government followed as Dahanayake sacked and appointed ministers. This led to a defeat of the SLFP in the March 1960 elections.

First term

During this time Sirimavo was brought forward as legitimate successor to her husband's party leadership and she entered politics. In 1960 M. P. de Zoysa Jnr stepped down from his seat in the Senate (appointed upper house of Parliament) paving the way for Sirimavo to be appointed as a member of the Senate from the SLFP. She led her party to win the July 1960 elections on the pledge to continue her husband's policies, notably the Sinhala Only Act, and to proceed with repatriation of the estate Tamils to India. On 21 July 1960, as a Senator she became prime minister, thus becoming the first female prime minister in the world.

Known to her fellow Sri Lankans as "Mrs. B," she could skillfully use popular emotion to boost her support, frequently bursting into tears as she pledged to continue her assassinated husband's policies. Her opponents and critics called her the "weeping widow", saying she got herself nominated a Senator and made head of her husband's party after his death by making capital out of his death, going around to different villages and weeping over their children.

Bandaranaike was a socialist who continued her husband's policies of nationalizing key sectors of the economy, such as banking and insurance, and also nationalizing all schools then owned by the Roman Catholic Church in 1961.^[4] Bandaranaike was on a roller-coaster ride from the moment she took office. Within a year of her 1960 election victory she declared a "state of emergency". This followed a civil disobedience campaign by part of the country's minority Tamil population who were outraged by her decision to drop English as an official language and her order to conduct all government business in Sinhala, the language of the majority Sinhalese. This they considered a highly discriminatory act and an attempt to deny Tamils access to all official posts and the law. This led to an increase in Tamil militancy which escalated under succeeding administrations.

Further problems arose with the state takeover of foreign businesses, particularly petroleum companies, which upset the United States and Britain; they ended aid to Sri Lanka. As a result, Bandaranaike moved her country closer to China and the Soviet Union and championed a policy of nonalignment. At home, she crushed an attempted military coup by Christian officers in 1962 and appointed her uncle William Gopallawa Governor-General of Ceylon. In 1964, she entered into a historic coalition with the Marxist Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP). At the end of 1964, she lost a vote of confidence. The SLFP coalition was defeated in the 1965 elections, ending her first term as Prime Minister.

Sirimavo Bandaranaike with Soviet Union Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin, Tissa Wijeyeratne and Anura Bandaranaike

Pact with India

Under the terms of the 1964 agreement with India, 600,000 Indian Tamils were to be repatriated, while 375,000 were to be granted Sri Lankan citizenship. By 31 October 1981, when the two countries were to have settled this issue, India had taken more than 300,000 persons as repatriates. Sri Lanka had granted citizenship to over 185,000 plus over 62,000 post-1964 offspring. Over 207,000 Indian Tamils in Sri Lanka before 1964, plus nearly 45,000 offspring, were granted Indian citizenship but still awaited repatriation. In the wake of the July 1983 anti-Tamil violence, some in this latter group are being processed for repatriation or have emigrated to India.

With the lapse of the 1964 agreement India declined to consider any more applications for citizenship. The government of Sri Lanka believes that the 1964 pact remains in force until the citizenship cases and permanent residence of all Indian Tamils covered by the pact have been settled. The All-Party Conference has agreed that the government should grant Sri Lankan citizenship to stateless Indian Tamils who did not apply for Indian citizenship and were not granted Sri Lankan citizenship under the 1964 agreement.^[5]

Second term

She regained power after the United Front coalition (SLFP, LSSP, and the Communists) won the 1970 elections with a large majority. But after just 16 months in power, the government was almost toppled by the 1971 JVP Insurrection of left-wing youths. Bandaranaike had disbanded the government's intelligence service, suspecting that it was loyal to the opposition United National Party (UNP). Thus there was no warning of the uprising, and Sri Lanka's small army was caught off guard. The army mobilized its reserves and held the capital, but some outlying areas were occupied by the insurgents. The government was saved by military aid from both India and Pakistan, thanks to Bandaranaike's skillful foreign policy. In those tough political years, she turned herself into a formidable leader. "She was the only man in her cabinet", one of her officials commented during the height of the insurgency.

Her second term saw a new constitution introduced in 1972, replacing the Soulbury constitution. Ceylon was renamed Sri Lanka and became a republic. The 1973 oil crisis had a traumatic effect on the Sri Lankan economy: the government had no access to Western aid and her socialist policies stifled economic activity. Rationing had to be imposed. Bandaranaike became more and more intolerant of criticism and forced the shut-down of the Independent newspaper group, whose publications were her fiercest critics. Earlier she had nationalized the country's largest newspaper, Lake House, which has remained the government's official mouthpiece. Bandaranaike enjoyed continued success in foreign affairs. She was chosen chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1976, and hosted the Movement's conference, attended by numerous heads of state. Despite her high international standing, she was losing Sri Lankan support rapidly amid allegations of corruption and against the background of a rapidly declining economy.

Under the Soulbury constitution, election would have been held in 1975. However, the government had become very unpopular. Bandaranaike used a clause of the 1972 constitution to delay elections until 1977. This did not help and in the 1977 elections the United Front was routed, winning only 8 seats.

Opposition

Bandaranaike held her own seat in 1977, but in 1980, she was charged with abuse of power for the 1975–77 delay in elections. She was expelled from parliament and banned from public office for seven years.The 1980s were her dark days. She became a political outcast, rejected by the people who had once worshipped her. Bandaranaike spent the next seventeen years in opposition warding off challenges to her leadership of the SLFP, even from her own children. Always the politician, she played her ambitious daughter Chandrika and son Anura against one another, holding on to party control despite losing every subsequent general election.

Third term

In 1994, the SLFP-led coalition won the general elections. Chandrika then outmanoeuvred her mother to become prime minister; and then was elected President the same year.

Bandaranaike became prime minister again, but the constitution had changed since her last tenure. As prime minister she was now subordinate to her daughter, the President. She remained in office till a few months before her death, but had little real power. She died on Election Day, 10 October 2000, after having cast her vote for the last time.

See also

• List of political families in Sri Lanka
• Attempted military coup in Ceylon, 1962
• Bandaranaike family
• Skard, Torild (2014) "Sirimavo Bandaranaike". Women of Power, Half a century of female presidents and prime ministers, Bristol: Policy Press. ISBN 978-1-44731-578-0

References

External links

• The Ratwatte Ancestry
• The Bandaranaike Ancestry
• Golden memories of a political prodigy
• Website of the Parliament of Sri Lanka
• New York Times: Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka Dies at 84; First Woman Premier
• Sirimavo Bandaranaike

Prime Ministers of Sri Lanka Don Stephen Senanayake Dudley Senanayake John Kotelawala S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike Wijeyananda Dahanayake Dudley Senanayake Sirimavo Bandaranaike Dudley Senanayake Sirimavo Bandaranaike Junius Richard Jayewardene Ranasinghe Premadasa Dingiri Banda Wijetunga Ranil Wickremesinghe Chandrika Kumaratunga Sirimavo Bandaranaike Ratnasiri Wickremanayake Ranil Wickremesinghe Mahinda Rajapaksa Ratnasiri Wickremanayake Disanayaka Jayaratne Ranil Wickremesinghe

← Members of the 6th Parliament of Ceylon (1965 (1965)-1970) → Speaker: Albert Peries/Shirley Corea Prime Minister: Dudley Senanayake Leader of the Opposition: Sirimavo Bandaranaike Central Province (23) George Abeyagoonasekera S. S. Abeysundara Alick Aluwihare W. M. G. T. Banda M. A. Daniel L. B. Dassanayake Abdul Cader Shahul Hameed T. B. M. Herath C. Karunaratne R. Kulatillake P. G. Muthubanda H. M. Navaratne D. B. Ranatunga D. J. Ranaweera E. L. Senanayake Hemachandra Sirisena T. B. Tennekoon P. B. Weerakoon R. P. Wijesiri Edmund Wijesuriya Dingiri Banda Wijetunga N. Wimalasena S. B. Yalegama Eastern Province (11) K. W. Devanayagam M. S. Kariapper M. C. Ahamed A. L. Abdul Majeed M. A. Abdul Majeed S. M. Manickarajah M. E. H. Mohamed Ali M. M. Mustapha C. Rajadurai S. M. Rasamanickam Abdul Lathiff Sinnalebbe Senerath Somaratne Northern Province (13) V. A. Alegacone A. Amirthalingam S. J. V. Chelvanayakam V. Dharmalingam S. Kathiravelupillai E. M. V. Naganathan V. Navaratnam V. N. Navaratnam G. G. Ponnambalam K. P. Ratnam M. Sivasithamparam T. Sivasithamparam K. Thurairatnam North Central Province (8) C. P. de Silva E. L. B. Hurulle S. B. Lenawa R. B. Ratnamalala K. B. Ratnayake Maithripala Senanayake P. M. K. Tennakoon Leelaratne Wijesinghe North Western Province (16) M. D. Banda D. M. Tilakaratna Bandara Shirley Corea Herath Ekanayake S. B. Herat I. M. R. A. Iriyagolla M. H. Naina Marikkar Festus Perera Albert Peries Hugh Fernando R. R. W. Rajapakse Leticia Rajapakse Richard Gotabhaya Senanayake J. L. Sirisena Tikiri Banda Subasinghe Mudiyanse Tennakoon U. B. Wanninayake Dingiri Bandara Welagedara Sabaragamuwa Province (16) Dhanapala Attygalle C. R. Beligammana D. F. Hettiarachchi P. C. Imbulana P. B. G. Kalugalla Wimala Kannangara Asoka Karunaratne W. A. Karunasena W. A. Dharmadasa H. Kularatne Cyril Mathew N. M. Perera Abeyratne Pilapitiya Clifford Ratwatte Mallikka Ellawala Ratwatte Dudley Senanayake Dhanapala Weerasekera P. B. Wijesundara Southern Province (19) Matarage Sirisena Amarasiri D. P. Atapattu Wijeyananda Dahanayake Neal de Alwis A. D. S. de Silva L. C. de Silva Lakshman de Silva William de Silva Ronnie de Mel Charles Edirisuriya Prins Gunasekera Sirisena Hettige Montague Jayawickrama C. N. Kannangara George Rajapaksa M. H. Saddhasena R. G. Samaranayake Albert Kariyawasam Edwin Tillekeratne B. Y. Tudawe Percy Wickremasinghe S. A. Wickramasinghe Uva Province (10) W. P. G. Ariyadasa K. Y. M. Wijeratne Banda Dharmadasa Banda B. H. Bandara J. G. Gunasekera R. M. Appuhamy S. A. Peiris Kusuma Rajaratne Percy Samaraweera C. P. J. Seneviratne Raja Welegama Western Province (35) Felix Dias Bandaranaike S. D. Bandaranayake Sirimavo Bandaranaike Falil Caffoor Somaweera Chandrasiri M. Ruskin Fernando T. Quintin Fernando Denzil Fernando Cholmondeley Goonewardena Leslie Goonewardena Philip Gunawardena Lakshman Jayakody D. Shelton Jayasinghe S. de S. Jayasinghe Gamini Jayasuriya M. D. H. Jayawardena J. R. Jayewardene Pieter Keuneman Abdul Bakeer Markar Wijayapala Mendis M. H. Mohamed Anil Moonesinghe Colvin R. de Silva Mangala Moonesinghe S. Obeyesekera Dayasena Turnolius Pasqual K. D. David Perera Paris Perera R. S. Perera Ranasinghe Premadasa D. S. Samarasinghe T. B. Ilangaratne M. P. de Z. Siriwardena Bernard Soysa V. A. Sugathadasa S. K. K. Suriarachchi Stanley Tillekeratne Ratnasiri Wickremanayake Appointed (6) V. Annamalai Razik Fareed Savumiamoorthy Thondaman *This list is unfinished.

← Members of the 7th Parliament of Sri Lanka (1970 (1970)–1977) → Speaker: Stanley Tillekeratne Prime Minister: Sirimavo Bandaranaike Leader of the Opposition: J. R. Jayewardene Central Province (23) M. S. Aluthgamage P. G. Ariyatillake Gamini Dissanayake A. G. Fernando Monty Gopallawa Abdul Cader Shahul Hameed T. B. M. Herath Thamara Ilangaratna D. M. Jayaratne T. B. Jayasundera U. P. Y. Jinadasa Hector Kobbekaduwa R. Kulatillake H. M. Navaratne E. L. Senanayake Hemachandra Sirisena P. Tennakoon T. B. Tennekoon Richard Udugama P. B. Unantenne J. D. Weerasekera N. Wimalasena S. B. Yalegama Eastern Province (11) M. C. Ahamed K. W. Devanayagam A. L. Abdul Majeed M. A. Abdul Majeed M. M. Mustapha B. Neminathan C. Rajadurai P. R. Selvanayagam Senerath Somaratne S. Thambirajah A. Thangathurai Northern Province (13) V. A. Alegacone S. A. Raheem V. Anandasangaree C. Arulampalam S. J. V. Chelvanayakam V. Dharmalingam K. Jeyakody S. Kathiravelupillai C. X. Martyn V. N. Navaratnam K. P. Ratnam X. M. Sellathambu A. Thiagarajah K. Thurairatnam North Central Province (8) T. B. Herath A. M. Jinadasa R. B. Ratnamalala A. M. S. Adhikari K. B. Ratnayake Maithripala Senanayake Ratna Deshapriya Senanayake P. M. K. Tennakoon Leelaratne Wijesinghe North Western Province (16) S. M. Asenkudhoos M. H. Naina Marikkar Tissa Balalla Augustheenu Fonseka M. Herat S. B. Herat S. D. R. Jayaratne L. B. Jayasena G. W. Samarasinghe Tikiri Banda Subasinghe Mudiyanse Tennakoon Protus Tissera P. B. Wettewa D. P. Wickramasinghe M. A. J. Wijesinghe P. Wijesinghe S. Wijewardena Sabaragamuwa Province (16) B. A. P. B. Balasuriya Nanda Ellawala Piyadasa Harischandra P. B. G. Kalugalla V. T. G. Karunaratne Sarath Muttetuwegama Vasudeva Nanayakkara N. M. Perera P. R. Ratnayake Mallikka Ellawala Ratwatte Dudley Senanayake Rukman Senanayake Athauda Seneviratne W. A. A. Sirisena Dharmadasa Wanniarachchi Dhanapala Weerasekera P. O. Wimalanaga Southern Province (19) Sumanapala Dahanayake Wijeyananda Dahanayake Neal de Alwis Ronnie de Mel L. C. de Silva Pettagan Weerasinghe de Silva Henry William Dissanayake Prins Gunasekera Panini Ilangakoon Albert Kariyawasam M. G. Mendis Aelian Mahanaga Nanayakkara George Rajapaksa Lakshman Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa Roy Don Rajapaksa Senapala Samarasekera Edirisuriya Tennyson B. Y. Tudawe S. A. Wickramasinghe Uva Province (10) R. M. Appuhamy W. P. G. Ariyadasa K. Y. M. Wijeratne Banda B. H. Bandara R. M. Bandara W. M. R. S. B. Delungahawatta A. M. Jayawardena S. A. S. Somapala Raja Welegama D. D. E. Wickremaratne Western Province (35) Kusala Abhayawardana Felix Dias Bandaranaike Sirimavo Bandaranaike A. T. Basnayake I. A. Abdul Cader Falil Caffoor Somaweera Chandrasiri Dharmasena Attygalle Wimalasiri de Mel Colvin R. de Silva K. C. de Silva Wijayapala Mendis Denzil Fernando Cholmondeley Goonewardena Leslie Goonewardena Vivienne Goonewardena Chandra Gunasekera T. B. Ilangaratne Lakshman Jayakody Bonnie Jayasuriya J. R. Jayewardene Pieter Keuneman A. D. J. L. Leo Mangala Moonesinghe S. Obeyesekera Dayasena Turnolius Pasqual Paris Perera Joseph Michael Perera R. S. Perera Ranasinghe Premadasa Wilfred Senanayake M. P. de Z. Siriwardena Bernard Soysa V. A. Sugathadasa Vincent Perera S. K. K. Suriarachchi Stanley Tillekeratne Herbert Wickramasinghe Ratnasiri Wickremanayake Appointed (6) Abd al-Aziz M. D. S. Jayawardene S. S. Kulatilake Badi-ud-din Mahmud J. E. J. Rodrigo M. C. Subramaniam Chelliah Kumarasuriyar *Appointed MPs were abolished in 1972 by the First Republican Constitution

← Members of the 8th Parliament of Sri Lanka (1977 (1977)–1989) → Speaker: Anandatissa de Alwis/Abdul Bakeer Markar/E. L. Senanayake Prime Minister: J. R. Jayewardene/Ranasinghe Premadasa Leader of the Opposition: A. Amirthalingam/Anura Bandaranaike Central Province (24) George Abeyagoonasekera S. S. Abeysundara Alick Aluwihare R. B. Attanayake J. G. Wijeratne Banda W. M. G. T. Banda Anura Bandaranaike D. M. Chandrapala R. P. Wijesiri M. A. Daniel Ananda Dassanayake Gamini Dissanayake W. M. P. B. Dissanayake K. W. R. M. Ekananayake Abdul Cader Shahul Hameed Renuka Herath C. Karunaratne P. B. Kaviratne Gamini Rajapakse Shelton Ranarajah E. L. Senanayake Savumiamoorthy Thondaman T. B. Werapitiya R. P. Wijesiri L. M. Wijesiri Dingiri Banda Wijetunga Eastern Province (12) M. L. Ahamed Fareeth M. Canagaratnam Ranganayaki Pathmanathan P. Dayaratna K. W. Devanayagam P. Ganeshalingam M. A. M. Jalaldeen H. D. L. Leelaratne M. E. H. Maharoof M. A. Abdul Majeed Abdul Rasak Mansoor C. Rajadurai R. Sampanthan Northern Province (14) A. Amirthalingam V. Anandasangaree V. Dharmalingam S. Kathiravelupillai M. Alalasundaram V. N. Navaratnam T. Rasalingam K. P. Ratnam X. M. Sellathambu M. Sivasithamparam T. Sivasithamparam P. S. Soosaithasan T. Thirunavukarasu Neelan Tiruchelvam K. Thurairatnam V. Yogeswaran North Central Province (10) A. M. S. Adikari K. D. M. C. Bandara Merril de Silva S. B. Wijekoon A. D. B. Ekanayake W. Y. Herath E. L. B. Hurulle G. D. Mahindasoma H. G. P. Nelson Maithripala Senanayake Dayaratne Walagambahu North Western Province (19) H. B. Abeyratne S. W. Alawatuwala Harindra Corea S. B. Herat Harold Herath J. A. D. S. R. Jayakody Lionel Jayatillake H. M. A. Lokubanda M. H. Naina Marikkar Festus Perera Gamini Jayawickrama Perera G. M. Premachandra Amarawathie Piyaseeli Ratnayake Kalubanda Ratnayake J. L. Sirisena Saddhatissa Wadigamangawa Asoka Wadigamangawa H. B. Wanninayake Dingiri Bandara Welagedara Ukkubanda Wijekoon Sabaragamuwa Province (17) M. L. M. Aboosally Gamini Atukorale C. R. Beligammana Chandrasekera Gankanda P. C. Imbulana Wimala Kannangara Asoka Karunaratne H. Kularatne Mervyn Kularatne Leonard Kiriella, Wimal Wickramasinghe Nanda Mathew K. Vincent Perera Abeyratne Pilapitiya Sarath Mutteguwegama G. V. Punchinilame N. A. Seneviratne Wasantha Udayaratne A. K. D. Wanigaratne Nissanka Wijeyeratne Southern Province (21) Keerthisena Abeywickrama Sumanadasa Abeywickrema Richard Pathirana Matarage Sirisena Amarasiri Ranjit Atapattu P. M. B. Cyril Ronnie de Mel P. S. Galappaththi A. D. S. de Silva Wijeyananda Dahanayake T. D. Fransisku K. Ananda Kularatne Montague Jayawickrama Rupasena Karunatilake D. E. Malawaraarachchi Chandrakumara Wijaya Gunawardena S. K. Piyadasa Bandulahewa Senadheera P. Sumathiratne G. V. S. de Silva Raitor Thilakasekara M. H. K. Jagathsena Edwin Tillekeratne Somaratne Asokaweera Norman Waidyaratna Harshanath Wanigasekera Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena Jinadasa Weerasinghe Dayananda Wickremasinghe E. D. Wickrematilaka Amarasiri Dodangoda Uva Province (12) R. M. Abeykoon R. M. Apphamy Dharmadasa Banda R. M. Punchi Bandara R. M. Karunaratne W. M. Karunaratne J. M. Kumaradasa W. J. M. Lokubandara D. Vincent Perera Percy Samaraweera C. P. J. Seneviratne Lakshman Senewiratne Samaraweera Weerawanni Western Province (39) Lalith Athulathmudali Dharmasena Attygalle Gamini Lokuge Sirimavo Bandaranaike S. D. Bandaranayake M. Jabir A. Cader Anandatissa de Alwis N. Denzil Fernando Neville Fernando Tyronne Fernando Bennet Gunasekera Premaratne Gunasekera Dinesh Gunawardena Tudor Gunasekera Jayakody Kamalawarana Indradasa Hettiarachchi M. Haleem Ishak D. Shelton Jayasinghe S. de S. Jayasinghe Sunethra Rupasinghe Gamini Jayasuriya Ariyaratne Jayatillake M. D. H. Jayawardena J. R. Jayewardene Anura Bastian Merrill Kariyawasam Weerasinghe Mallimarachchi Abdul Bakeer Markar Cyril Mathew Wijayapala Mendis M. H. Mohamed Joseph Michael Perera Vincent Perera O. S. Perera Ranasinghe Premadasa M. D. Premaratne Sarathchandra Rajakaruna R. G. Samaranayake Senaraja Samaranayake A. Edmund Samarawickrema Ranil Wickremesinghe Reginald V. Wijegunaratne Anil Moonesinghe V. L. Wijemanne Mahendra Wijeratne

← Members of the 9th Parliament of Sri Lanka (1989 (1989)–1994 (1994)) → Speaker: M. H. Mohamed Prime Minister: Dingiri Banda Wijetunga/ Ranil Wickremesinghe Leader of the Opposition: Sirimavo Bandaranaike Central Province Kandy Mahinda Abeykoon Tissa Attanayake A. R. M. Abdul Cader Chandraman de Silva Harindra Dunuwille Abdul Cader Shahul Hameed D. M. Jayaratne Lakshman Kiriella Anura Daniel Mahavithanaarachchige Yasaratne Tennakoon Dingiri Banda Wijetunga Premachandra Wijesiri Matale Alick Aluwihare Nandimithra Ekanayake Wijeratne Banda Jambugahapitiyagedera V. G. Jinadasa Punchi Banda Kaviratne Nuwara Eliya Tissa Abeyagoonasekera Ananda Dassanayake S. B. Dissanayake Gamini Dissanayake Renuka Herath Wijesundara Bandara Ranatunga Eastern Province Ampara M. H. M. Ashraff Nihal Bakmeewewa Ahangama Polwatte Galappatthige Chandradasa P. Dayaratna Karunasinghe Thewarapperuma J. Thiviyanathan Batticaloa Prince Casinader Alathipody Gunaseelan M. L. A. M. Hizbullah G. Karunakaran Sam Tambimuttu Trincomalee M. K. A. D. S. Gunawardana M. E. H. Maharoof Konamalai Mathavarajah Sivapragasam Ratnarajah Northern Province Jaffna Sebastiyampillai Edward Thambu Loganathapillai K. Navaratnam Eliyathamby Pararasasingam Suresh Premachandran Arunasalam Ponniah Selliah Kanapathy Selvanayagam S. Sivamaharajah Joseph George Rajenthiram Eliyathamby Ratnasabapathy G. Yogasangari Vanni Innasimuthu Alfred S. S. M. Abu Bakar R. Kuhaneswaran Rasamanohari Pulendran A. E. Silva North Central Province Anuradhapura Janak Mahendra Adhikari Sompala Adhikari D. M. Ariyadasa Chandrasoma Bandara Berty Premalal Dissanayake Lal Dharmapriya Gamage Themiya Hurulle K. B. Ratnayake Polonnaruwa Seid Ahamed Abdul Majeed Nelson Paththinige Samarasinghe Arachchilage Muthubanda Maithripala Sirisena C. A. Suriyaarachchi North Western Province Kurunegala Dissanayaka Mudiyanselage Bandaranayaka Upali Mervin Senarath Dasanayaka Herath Mudiyanselage Ariyawardanage Lokubanda S. B. Nawinne Upali Piyasoma A.M. Munidasa Premachandra G. M. Premachandra Lionel Rajapaksa Jayasena Rajakaruna Amara Piyaseeli Ratnayake Ariya Bandara Rekawa Herath Banda Wanninayaka Sarathchandra Bandara Welagedara Diunugallage Peter Wickramasinghe Ukkubanda Wijekoon Puttalam Harindra Jayanthi Corea Sujatha Dharmawardana Milroy Fernando Harold Herath Robert Jayaratne Michael Festus Wenceslaus Perera Ashoka Wadigamangawa Sabaragamuwa Province Kegalle Jagath Balasuriya Mohamed Farook Dharmadewa Jayasinghe Samantha Devi Karunaratne Vincent Perera Chandradasa Ranatunga Dharmasiri Senanayake Athauda Seneviratne Mano Wijeyeratne Ratnapura M. L. M. Aboosally Athula Kularatne Attygale Gamini Atukorale Nanda Ellawala Chandrasekara Gankande Helen Mahattaya Liyanage Nanda Mathew Vasudeva Nanayakkara John Seneviratne Wimal Wickramasinghe Southern Province Galle Upali Sarath Danston Amarasiri Nandimithra de Soyza Amarasiri Dodangoda Piyasena Gamage Vincent Jayawardene Noel Kariyawasam Rupa Karunathilake Nanda Kumarage Buddhika Kurukularatne Hemakumara Nanayakkara Richard Pathirana Hambantota Hary Abeydheera Ranjit Atapattu Ananda Kularatne Cyril Madduma Baduge Chamal Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa Gunapala Tissakuttiarachchi Matara Gamini Fonseka Madurapala Ediriweera H. R. Piyasiri Mangala Samaraweera Peter Silva Hewagampolage Sirisena Dayananda Wickremasinghe Ranjan Wijayawardhana Mahinda Wijesekara Uva Province Badulla Chandra Karunaratne W. J. M. Lokubandara Hema Ratnayake Ravindra Samaraweera Lakshman Senewiratne Madduma Bandara Sethapenage Edwin Wickramarathne Samaraweera Weerawanni Monaragala Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Ariyaratna Dharmadasa Banda Ranjith Madduma Bandara Gunavathi Dissanayake Gamini Vijith Vijithamuni Soysa Western Province Colombo Lalith Athulathmudali Mohamed Jabir Abdul Cader Sirisena Cooray Nimal Siripala de Silva Tyronne Fernando C. V. Gunaratne Premaratne Gunasekera Bandula Gunawardane Dinesh Gunawardena Gamini Lokuge Weerasinghe Mallimarachchi M. H. Mohamed Jinadasa Niyathapala Nimal Ransiri Peiris Dickson Sarathchandra Dela Vincent Perera Sunethra Ranasinghe M. S. Sellasamy Stanley Tillekeratne Kingsley Wickramaratne Gampaha John Amaratunga Anura Bandaranaike Sirimavo Bandaranaike Donald Dissanayake Jeyaraj Fernandopulle Mahen Gunasekera Lakshman Jayakody Ariyarathna Jayathilaka Wijayapala Mendis Joseph Michael Perera Peter Perera Sarathchandra Rajakaruna Reggie Ranatunga Sardhatissa Sakalasooriya Ranil Wickremesinghe Mahindra Wijerathna Kalutara Pathirage Don Abeyratne Sumitha Priyanganie Abeyweera Mervin Joseph Cooray Neville Fernando Indradasa Hettiarachchi Thilak Karunaratne Imthiaz Bakeer Markar Anil Moonesinghe Mangala Moonesinghe Jayasiri Sarath Kumara Ranawaka Punsiri Samaranayake National List (29) Unfinished

← Members of the 10th Parliament of Sri Lanka (1994 (1994)–2000 (2000)) → Speaker: K. B. Ratnayake Prime Minister: Chandrika Kumaratunga/ Sirimavo Bandaranaike / Ratnasiri Wickremanayake Leader of the Opposition: Ranil Wickremesinghe Central Province Kandy Sarath Amunugama Tissa Attanayake A. R. M. Abdul Cader Gamini Dissanayake Abdul Cader Shahul Hameed D. M. Jayaratne Lucky Jayawardena Lakshman Kiriella Wilson Kuruppuarachchi Anuruddha Ratwatte Irajarathnan Sivasamy Ediriweera Weerawardena Matale Alick Aluwihare Nandimithra Ekanayake Monty Gopallawa Janaka Bandara Tennakoon Jinadasa Vidanagamage Nuwara Eliya Tissa Abhayagunasekara P. Chandrasekaran S. B. Dissanayake Renuka Herath C. B. Ratnayake Suppaiah Sathasivam Muthu Sivalingam Arumugam Thondaman Eastern Province Ampara M. H. M. Ashraff Nihal Bakmeewewa P. Dayaratna Chandradasa Galappaththi U. L. M. Mohideen H.M. Weerasinghe Batticaloa M. L. A. M. Hizbullah Seyed Ali Zahir Moulana Joseph Pararajasingham P. Selvarasa K. Thurairajasingam Trincomalee M. E. H. Maharoof M. N. Abdul Majeed Sunil Ranaweera A. Thangathurai Northern Province Jaffna Unfinished Vanni S. S. M. Abu Bakar V. Balachandran Rasamanohari Pulendran S. Shanmuganathan D. Siddarthan Premaratnage Sumathipala North Central Province Anuradhapura Somapala Adikari Chandrasoma Bandara Berty Premalal Dissanayake Punchi Banda Dissanayake P. Harrison Tissa Karalliyadde Shantha Premarathna A. H. B. Semasinghe Polonnaruwa Nandasena Herath T. B. Mahalekam H. G. P. Nelson Rukman Senanayake Maithripala Sirisena North Western Province Kurunegala A.H.M Alavi D. M. Bandaranayake Bandula Basnayake Jayadeva Chandrawansha Salinda Dissanayake T. B. Ekanayake H.M.A. Loku Bandara S. B. Nawinne Gamini Jayawickrama Perera Munidasa Premachandra Amara Piyaseeli Ratnayake Jayasena Rajakaruna Piyasoma Upali D.P. Wickramasinghe Anura Priyadharshana Yapa Puttalam D. M. Dassanayake Joseph Fernando Milroy Fernando Harold Herath Festus Perera D.R. J. Silva Asoka Wadigamangawa Sabaragamuwa Province Kegalle Jagath Balasooriya Y. L. M. Farook Maheepala Herath P. B. G. Kalugalla K. Vincent Perera H. R. J. Podinilame Athauda Seneviratne R.A.D. Sirisena Mano Wijeyeratne Ratnapura Gamini Atukorale Nalanda Ellawala U. L. Heenmahaththaya K. D. Nanda Mathew Vasudeva Nanayakkara Susantha Punchinilame Jayatissa Ranaweera John Seneviratne H. M. U. Silva Pavithra Wanniarachchi Southern Province Galle Vajira Abeywardena M. U. S. D. Amarasiri Asoka Weerasinghe de Silva Amarasiri Dodangoda Piyasena Gamage Sarath Gunawardena Nandadasa Gunasinghe H. G. N. P. Kariyawasam Rupa Karunathilake Richard Pathirana Hambantota Mahinda Amaraweera Ananda Kularathne Chamal Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa Nirupama Rajapaksa Mervyn Silva J. P. V. Vipulaguna Nihal Galappaththi Matara Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena Dullas Alahapperuma Ronnie de Mel Chandrasiri Gajadeera E. A. Samarasinghe Mangala Samaraweera Mahinda Wijesekara H. R. Wimalasiri Uva Province Badulla W. J. M. Lokubandara Dilan Perera Hema Ratnayake R.M. Ratnayake Ravindra Samaraweera Lakshman Senewiratne Sennan Veera Samaraweera Weerawanni Monaragala Dharmadasa Banda Ranjith Madduma Bandara Sumedha Jayasena A. M. Jayawardana Jagath Pushpakumara Western Province Colombo Ossie Abeygunasekera P. P. Devaraj Srimani Athulathmudali Nawalaage Benet Cooray Nimal Siripala de Silva Tyronne Fernando A. H. M. Fowzie C. V. Gunaratne Indika Gunawardena Karunasena Kodituwakku Jeewan Kumaranatunga Gamini Lokuge Weerasinghe Mallimarachchi R. Yogarajan M. H. Mohamed Susil Moonesinghe Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra Gunasekara Premaratne Amal Senalankadikara Bernard Soysa Kingsley Wickramaratne Ranil Wickremesinghe Gampaha John Amaratunga Chandrika Kumaratunga Jeyaraj Fernandopulle Upali Gunaratne Lionel Gunawardena Anura Hapangama Lakshman Jayakody Wijayapala Mendis Jinadasa Nandasena Athula Nimalasiri Felix Perera Joseph Michael Perera Reginold Perera Sarathchandra Rajakaruna Suranimala Rajapaksha Reggie Ranatunga Neil Rupasinghe A. V. Suraweera Kalutara Sumithra Priyanganie Abeyweera Imthiaz Bakeer Markar Reginald Cooray Thilak Karunarathna Anil Moonesinghe Ediriweera Premarathna Jayasiri Sarath Kumara Ranawaka Mahinda Samarasinghe Kumara Welgama Ratnasiri Wickremanayake National List (29) Unfinished