LESSON 2
The first woman prime minister in the world

Priyath Liyanage: Mrs Sirimavo Bandaranaike was the first woman prime minister in the world and she also went on to become the oldest prime minister. Mrs Bandaranaike was 84 years old when she died and she was still the prime minister at that age.

In 1959 her husband was assassinated by a Buddhist monk. When her husband was assassinated the party wanted to appoint a leader to become the prime minister. They had to face an election immediately after, so for this election they somehow managed to persuade Mrs Bandaranaike to contest* as the leader of the party. She was not a person who had any experience as a politician. She was a housewife who looked after her three children. Then they won the elections in the early sixties and she became the first woman prime minister in the world.