Her Excellency Chandrika Kumaratunga |
|
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5th President of Sri Lanka | |
In office 12 November 1994 – 19 November 2005 |
|
Prime Minister |
Sirimavo Bandaranaike Ratnasiri Wickremanayake Ranil Wickremesinghe Mahinda Rajapaksa |
Preceded by | Dingiri Banda Wijetunga |
Succeeded by | Mahinda Rajapaksa |
Prime Minister of Sri Lanka | |
In office 19 August 1994 – 12 November 1994 |
|
President | Dingiri Banda Wijetunga |
Preceded by | Ranil Wickremesinghe |
Succeeded by | Sirimavo Bandaranaike |
Chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party | |
In office 1994 – 18 November 2005 |
|
Preceded by | Sirimavo Bandaranaike |
Succeeded by | Mahinda Rajapaksa |
Chief Minister of Western Province | |
In office 21 May 1993 – 20 August 1994 |
|
Preceded by | Susil Moonesinghe |
Succeeded by | Morris Rajapaksa |
Personal details | |
Born |
Chandrika Bandaranaike 29 June 1945 |
Political party | Sri Lanka Freedom Party |
Other political affiliations |
People's Alliance (1994–2004) |
Spouse(s) | Vijaya Kumaranatunga (1978–1988) |
Children | Yasodhara Vimukthi |
Parents |
Solomon Bandaranaike Sirimavo Bandaranaike |
Alma mater |
Institute of Political Studies, Paris Practical School of Advanced Studies |
Religion | Theravada Buddhism |
Signature | |
Website | Official website |
Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga (Sinhalese: චන්ද්රිකා බණ්ඩාරනායක කුමාරතුංග,Tamil: சந்திரிகா பண்டாரநாயக்க குமாரதுங்க; born 29 June 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the fifth President of Sri Lanka, from 12 November 1994 to 19 November 2005. The country's only female president to date, she is the daughter of two former prime ministers and was the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) until the end of 2005.
Born Chandrika Bandaranaike comes from an political family with a long history of socio-political involvement in the country. Her father, Solomon Bandaranaike was a government minister at the time of her birth and later became Prime Minister. He was assassinated in 1959, when Chandrika was fourteen. Chandrika's mother, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, then became the world's first female prime minister, in 1960. Chandrika's brother, Anura Bandaranaike is a former Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka and a former minister who died in March 2008. Her sister Sunethra Bandaranaike is a well-known philanthropist and runs the Sunera Trust. Their paternal grandfather, Sir Solomon Dias Bandaranike, was the Maha Mudaliyar, the chief Ceylonese representative and advisor to the Governor of Ceylon and maternal grandfather was Barnes Ratwatte, Dissawa of Sabaragamuwa during British colonial rule who was a who were descended from Ratwatte Dissawa, Dissawa of Matale, a signatory on behalf of the Sinhalese to the Kandyan Convention of 1815.