Chandrika Kumaratunga
Who was Chandrika Kumaratunga?
Sri Lanka's first female President (1994-2005) and daughter of Prime Ministers S.W.R.D. and Sirimavo Bandaranaike, who initiated peace negotiations during the civil war.
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Chandrika Kumaratunga (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, born on June 29, 1945, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, is a key figure in South Asian politics. Often referred to by her initials, CBK, she was Sri Lanka's fifth President from November 12, 1994, to November 19, 2005. She was the first female president of the country and the longest-serving head of state. She grew up in a prominent political family; her father, Solomon W. R. D. Bandaranaike, was Prime Minister until he was assassinated in 1959, and her mother, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, was the world's first female prime minister. This strong political background influenced her path to national leadership.
Kumaratunga studied in France, attending Sciences Po and Sciences Po Aix-en-Provence, where she learned about European social democratic ideas that later shaped her political beliefs. She started her political career in Sri Lanka in the 1970s, focusing on social welfare and rural development. Her personal life was marked by tragedy when her husband, actor and politician Vijaya Kumaratunga, was assassinated in 1988. After his death, she spent time abroad but returned to Sri Lanka in the late 1980s with a renewed political focus. In 1993, she became Chief Minister of the Western Province, which helped launch her national political career.
In 1994, she took over leadership of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and led the People's Alliance coalition to victory in parliamentary elections. Later that year, she won the presidential election in a record-setting win, capturing nearly 62 percent of the vote against Srima Dissanayake from the United National Party. Her first term included attempts at peace talks to end the long civil war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, but these efforts collapsed. In 1999, during her re-election campaign, she survived an assassination attempt at a rally, losing sight in one eye. Despite the attack, she secured a second term, defeating Ranil Wickremesinghe.
As president, Kumaratunga promoted what she called capitalism with a human face, shifting the SLFP away from its usual economic policies toward a market-focused approach that still emphasized social fairness and public welfare. This change modernized the Sri Lankan left and widened her party's appeal. She received the Commander of the Legion of Honour from France for her international reputation. After leaving office in 2005, she stayed active in Sri Lanka's politics and civil society, focusing on governance, reconciliation, and democratic reform.
Before Fame
Chandrika Bandaranaike grew up in a political family, being the daughter of two prime ministers. Her father's assassination in 1959, when she was just fourteen, and her mother's rise to become the world's first female prime minister, introduced her early to the ups and downs of public life in Sri Lanka. She studied in France at Sciences Po, where learning about European political theory and social democratic traditions gave her a different perspective compared to the politics back home.
After returning to Sri Lanka, she focused on grassroots development and gradually created her own political identity, separate from her family. Her marriage to Vijaya Kumaratunga linked her to populist movements in Sri Lankan society, and his assassination in 1988 strengthened her determination to address the country's challenges. Her election as Chief Minister of the Western Province in 1993 showed she could succeed on her own, proving the skills she needed for her successful presidential run the following year.
Key Achievements
- Became Sri Lanka's first female President and the country's longest-serving head of state, serving from 1994 to 2005
- Led the Sri Lanka Freedom Party to a historic 1994 landslide presidential victory, securing nearly 62 percent of the vote
- Initiated significant peace negotiations with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during the Sri Lankan civil war
- Modernised the SLFP's economic ideology by shifting from state-controlled policies to a market-oriented framework with social protections
- Awarded the Commander of the Legion of Honour by France in recognition of her contributions to democracy and international relations
Did You Know?
- 01.She survived an assassination attempt by a suicide bomber just two days before the 1999 presidential election, losing sight in her right eye, yet still won re-election.
- 02.Both of her parents served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, making her family unique in world political history for producing three heads of government across two generations.
- 03.Her husband, Vijaya Kumaratunga, was one of Sri Lanka's most beloved film and stage actors before becoming a politician, and his murder in 1988 transformed her political trajectory.
- 04.She won the 1994 presidential election with nearly 62 percent of the vote, the largest landslide victory in Sri Lankan electoral history up to that point.
- 05.She studied at Sciences Po in Paris, one of France's most prestigious institutions for political science, and was later awarded the Commander of the Legion of Honour by the French government.
Family & Personal Life
Awards & Honors
| Award | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Commander of the Legion of Honour | — | — |