The Honourable S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike MP |
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4th Prime Minister of Ceylon | |
In office 12 April 1956 – 26 September 1959 |
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Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Governor General | Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke |
Preceded by | John Kotelawala |
Succeeded by | Wijeyananda Dahanayake |
Leader of the Opposition | |
In office 9 June 1952 – 18 February 1956 |
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Prime Minister | Dudley Senanayake |
Preceded by | N. M. Perera |
Succeeded by | N. M. Perera |
Chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party | |
In office 2 September 1951 – 26 September 1959 |
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Succeeded by | C. P. de Silva |
Minister of Health and Local Government | |
In office 26 September 1947 – 12 July 1951 |
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Prime Minister | D. S. Senanayake |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Dudley Senanayake |
Member of the Ceylon Parliament for Attanagalla |
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In office 14 October 1947 – 26 September 1959 |
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Preceded by | Constituency established |
Succeeded by | James Obeyesekere |
Personal details | |
Born |
Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) |
8 January 1899
Died | 26 September 1959 Colombo, Ceylon |
(aged 60)
Political party |
Sri Lanka Freedom Party (1951-1959) United National Party (1946-1951) |
Spouse(s) | Sirimavo Bandaranaike |
Relations | Panini Ilangakoon (Cousin) |
Children |
Sunethra Chandrika Anura |
Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
Religion | Theravada Buddhism |
Website | Official website |
Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike (Sinhalese: සොලමන් වෙස්ට් රිජ්වේ ඩයස් බණ්ඩාරනායක,Tamil: சாலமன் வெஸ்ட் ரிட்ஜ்வே டயஸ் பண்டாரநாயக்கா; 8 January 1899 – 26 September 1959), frequently referred to as S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, was the fourth Prime Minister of Ceylon (later Sri Lanka) and founder of the left wing and Sinhala nationalist Sri Lanka Freedom Party, serving as Prime Minister from 1956 until his assassination by a Buddhist monk in 1959.
Bandaranaike was born in Colombo, Ceylon, to an elite Sinhalese Anglican Christian family and was the son of the powerful Sir Solomon Dias Bandaranaike the Maha Mudaliyar (the chief native interpreter and advisor to the Governor) of Horagolla Walauwa in Attanagalla, during British colonial rule, who named his son after West Ridgeway, the Governor of Ceylon at the time and was his god father. In later life he converted to Buddhism in order to join politics. He received his secondary education at S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia and went on to study modern greats at Christ Church, Oxford University, where he was Secretary of the famous Oxford Union. He later qualified as a Barrister in England. After having moved there in 1930s. It is also believed he was privately tutuored and was sent to S.Thomas' for sake of records - as it was a requirement to gain admission to a British University one had to be at a formal school. His stint at STC was very brief before he entered Oxford University.