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She had casted her vote at the Sangabodhi Maha Vidyalaya, Nittambuwa and had been returning home in her car when she had suffered a heart attack at Kadawatha. An inquest had revealed that she had died of a myocardial infarction. The nation plunged in to a deep shock and sorrow with the sad news. The former premier was known for her courage and resilience in a political career spanning 40 years, as Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition. She was leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party founded by her husband S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike until her death. Mrs. Bandaranike until recently the Prime Minister under the Government of her daughter President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, retired from politics due to ill health. Tributes kept pouring in from world leaders soon after receiving news of the death of Mrs. Bandaranaike who was a chairperson of the Non-Aligned movement and played a prominent role in International politics during her twin tenures as Prime Minister from 1960 to 1965 and 1970 to 1977. Born on April 17, 1916 Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike whose emergence as a woman Prime Minister in 1960 was acclaimed worldwide and greeted with great enthusiasm. The daughter of Barnes Ratwatte Dissawa and Ratwatte Kumarihamy she received her education at St. Bridget's Convent, a leading Roman Catholic institution in Colombo. In 1940, she married S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, then Minister of Local Government and Health, who later became Prime Minister, in April 1956 and continued till September 1959, when he was assassinated. When Mrs. Bandaranaike first became Prime Minister in July 1960, she was not a member of Parliament, but functioned as Premier from the Senate (Upper House of Parliament), which her own government abolished in October 1971. She contested her first seat in Parliament in March 1965 and was returned by a convincing majority of over 16,500 votes. On that occasion, however, she had to be satisfied with being the Leader of the Opposition as the late Dudley Senanayake was elected Prime Minister. Mrs. Bandaranaike's greatest achievement was perhaps, the staging of the Non-Aligned Conference, in Colombo, and her election as Chairperson of it. The following are the highlights of her political career:- 1960 - Landslide victory in the July 1960 general election and being appointed Prime Minister of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) by Sir Oliver Goonetilleke, Governor-General. She took her seat as member of the Senate and the world hailed the beginning of an era with a woman Prime Minister at the helm. 1961 - Mrs. Bandaranaike undertook her first, official assignment outside the country and attended the Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference held in London, in March 1961. It was the first Conference of Prime Ministers at which a woman Prime Minister took her place. 1962 - Mrs. Bandaranaike was in China, in December, in an attempt to solve the border dispute between China and India, which led to war between them earlier. 1963 - She visited Russia, Czechoslovakia and Poland, and met the leaders of those nations. 1964 - Mrs. Bandaranaike attended the second meeting of Commonwealth Prime Ministers, and also the Afro-Asian Conference in Cairo. In 1964, she also concluded an agreement known as the Sirima-Shastri Pact, with the Government of India. 1964 - (December), Mrs. Bandaranaike was defeated in Parliament after 14 members crossed over to the Opposition led by the UNP. 1965 - Mrs. Bandaranaike decided to contest her first election to Parliament and was returned for Attanagalla by a large majority. Her SLFP was, however, defeated by the United National Party led by the late Dudley Senanayake and she functioned as Leader of the Opposition. 1968 - Mrs. Bandaranaike signed a Common Agreement with the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (Trotskyites) and the Communist Party (Moscow) and her own Sri Lanka Freedom Party, to carry out the progressive policies begun in 1956 under the leadership of her husband, the late S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, a former Prime Minister, in order to establish a socialist democracy. 1970 (May) - Mrs. Bandaranaike scored another landslide victory and was sworn in as Prime Minister for the second time. Her United Front of the SLFP, LSSP and the CP (Moscow) secured a two-thirds majority. 1971 (January) - Mrs. Bandaranaike declared a State of Emergency in the country following an insurrection by some elements calling themselves the Che Guevara Movement. The insurgency was crushed and the leaders jailed. 1971 (October) - Mrs. Bandaranaike visited the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. During her 20-day trip, she addressed the 26th annual session of the United Nations General Assembly and called for international support for Ceylon's proposal for the establishment of a Peace Zone in the Indian Ocean. 1972 (May 22) - A new constitution for Sri Lanka was proclaimed, called the Constitution of the Republic of Sri Lanka. 1975 - Attended meeting of Commonwealth Prime Ministers in Jamaica. 1976 (August) - Mrs. Bandaranaike was unanimously elected Chairman of the 5th Non-Aligned Conference. Her name was proposed by President Anwar Sadat of Egypt, and supported by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of India and Archbishop Makarios of Cyprus. Mrs. Bandaranaike, whose United Left Front had broken up by the dismissal of the LSSP in September 1975, and the resignation of the Moscow Communist in February 1977, dissolved Parliament on May 18, 1977, and fixed a General Election for July 21. Her party was defeated at the elections and only 8 out of the 147 SLFP members, contesting, were elected.
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