Chandrika Kumaratunga

Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga is a Sri Lankan politician who served as president from 1994 to 2005 and prime minister in 1994. She was the country’s first woman president.

Sirimavo Bandaranaike: Sri Lankan politician who became the world’s first woman prime minister in 1960. Kumaratunga’s mother and a major figure in the party leadership she inherited.
Executive Presidency of Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka’s constitutional system gives the president substantial executive powers alongside a parliament and prime minister. This office gave Kumaratunga authority over government and the armed forces.
Women in Sri Lankan politics: The history and participation of women in Sri Lanka’s political institutions and public leadership. Kumaratunga became the country’s first woman president and a prominent political precedent.
Bandaranaike family: A Sri Lankan political family whose members held the offices of prime minister and president. Kumaratunga’s parents and political inheritance connected her to national leadership.
Sri Lankan war crimes allegations: Allegations that parties to the Sri Lankan civil war committed violations of international humanitarian law. Her governments faced scrutiny over abuses during military campaigns against the LTTE.
Solomon Bandaranaike: Sri Lankan politician who served as prime minister from 1956 until his assassination in 1959. Her father founded the political dynasty that shaped her early public life.
Sri Lanka peace process: Negotiations and political initiatives aimed at ending the conflict between the Sri Lankan state and Tamil separatists. Kumaratunga pursued negotiations while continuing military operations against the LTTE.
Sri Lankan presidential election, 1994: The election in which Chandrika Kumaratunga defeated Srima Dissanayake to become president. Her victory ended seventeen years of United National Party rule.
Sri Lankan civil war: An armed conflict from 1983 to 2009 between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The conflict formed the backdrop to her husband’s assassination and her political return.
Tamil–Sinhalese conflict: A long-running political and ethnic conflict between Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese majority and Tamil communities. The unresolved causes of this conflict limited the prospects of her peace initiatives.

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Sri LankaRelated: Her presidency coincided with efforts to negotiate an end to the civil war.