“I
will keep smiling no matter what”-President
[June
30, 2003 - 7.30 GMT]
 “You
can be assured that I will keep smiling no matter what difficult situations
I face, for if I had the pluck to keep smiling in the face of such severe
adversity in the past, I am certain that I will be able to do so in the
future too”, President Chandrika Kumaratunga is recorded as saying,
explaining her personal maxim in life.
President
Kumaratunga’s political opponents may criticise her ideologies or her
unique style of governance; but even they concede that her goal is to bring
a lasting peace to the country.
Renowned
for her energy and intellect Kumaratunga majored in Political Science from
L’Institute de Sciences Politiques or ‘Sciences Po’ in Paris.
Chandrika
was born to one of Sri Lanka’s most distinguished families on 29th June
1945. Her father, SWRD Bandaranaike, was a senior Minister of the Government
at the time of her birth. He was later to become the Prime Minister of the
country, while her mother, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, was to become the
world’s first woman Prime Minister in 1961. Chandrika had her early
education at St. Bridget’s Convent, Colombo and at the Aquinas University
College Colombo.
Chandrika
Bandaranaike married Vijaya Kumaratunga in 1978. Her
charismatic film idol cum politician husband was slain by political
opponents in 1988.
A
painter and musician in her free time, behind Chandrika’s firm personality
is a loving and caring woman.
“When
her husband was imprisoned by the then government for his political
ideology, she went to prison every day to see him leaving her one-month old
son at home,” a member of her personal staff said.
Despite
her busy schedule she still finds time for worthy causes such as personally
visiting the victims of the recent floods in southern Sri Lanka, AIDS
prevention and Sahanaya.
Chandrika
Kumaratunga reached the zenith of her political career when she was elected
the World’s first woman Executive President in 1994 with a 62% mandate for
peace.
Sri
Lanka’s President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga celebrated her 58th
birthday yesterday, June 29.
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Last Updated
Date: June 30, 2003 - 7.30
GMT. |
