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Hon S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike – Photo By Government of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) –

Top 10 Fascinating Facts about S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike   

Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike was the fourth Prime Minister of the Dominion of Ceylon – current Sri Lanka. He served from 1956 when his party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, won a landslide victory at the general election until his assassination in 1959.   

He is referred to mostly by his initials S. W. R. D. or S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike and “The Silver Bell of Asia” by the Sri Lankan people. 

He is remembered for introducing legislation to prohibit caste-based discrimination in the country. Here are the top 10 fascinating facts about S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike. 

1. He Came From A Wealthy Political Family 

Bandaranaike was born on 8th January 1899 in Colombo, Ceylon. His father was Sir Solomon Dias Bandaranaike and his mother was Daisy Ezline Obeyesekere. His father was a colonial-era headman that worked closely with the governor of Ceylon while his maternal grandfather was a member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon.   

S.W.R.D. was a godchild of the then-British governor Sir Joseph West Ridgeway whom he was named after. The family had strong links with the British administration. 

2. Bandaranaike Was Initially Home Schooled

S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike just Two days before his death. Photo By Damitha K –

The young boy was homeschooled by two very good tutors. The only issue was his father and tutors imposed their ideals on him. When World War I began, his tutor left so he was enrolled at St Thomas’ College, Mutwal. At school, he played tennis and took part in debating where he was encouraged to form his own opinions and ideas. 

He passed his Senior Cambridge examinations and was admitted to Christ Church, Oxford, where he studied philosophy, politics, and economics. He was active in the Oxford students Union and was elected junior treasurer and even contested for the presidency but he did not win. 

S.W.R.D. graduated with honors in 1923 and the following year he became a barrister and was called to the bar at the Inner Temple. Shortly after, he returned home and took oaths as an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Ceylon and became active in local politics. 

3. He Started at the Municipal Council Level 

When S.W.R.D. got back, he was elected as the Chairman of the Village Committee in his family seat then he became Secretary of the Ceylon National Congress (CNC) in 1926. He vied for a municipal council seat and was elected to represent the Maradana Ward at the Colombo Municipal Council. 

In 1931, he was elected to the first State Council of Ceylon unopposed to represent the people of Veyangoda. In the state council, he was elected to the executive committee for local administration and played an active role in the council. He is remembered for suggesting a salary reduction for the speaker down to 1 rupee. 

4. Bandaranaike was a Minister For Local Administration 

In 1936, S.W.R.D. was reelected again unopposed to the second state council, and in its first meeting, they made him Minister of Local Administration.

This automatically meant chairing the executive committee on local administration, and being a member of the Board of Ministers. He was a very vocal member of the state council. 

5. He Was A Family Man 

Hon S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike – Photo By Government of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) –

S.W.R.D. married Sirima Ratwatte. They both came from prominent families and their wedding was dubbed ‘the wedding of the century’. There was a 17-year age gap but each family was looking for a suitable spouse for their child. 

The young couple was blessed with three children, Sunethra in 1943, Chandrika in 1945, and Anura in 1949. 

6. He Was Part Of The Struggle For Independence

Bandaranaike was the founder of the Sinhala Maha Sabha, a political party in Ceylon that promoted the Sinhalese Buddhist culture and community interests. It brought the Sinhalese people together by unifying them. They constitute about 75% of the Sri Lankan population and are more than 16.2 million people. 

In 1941, he introduced the Free Lanka Bill in the State Council and at the time the Sinhala Maha Sabha was the largest party in the State Council. He was a charismatic leader and a brilliant orator who made a mark in politics as a strong opponent of the colonial administration and a committed advocate of self-rule, indigenous culture, and language.  

7. He Was The First Cabinet Minister of Health and Local Government 

S.W.R.D. combine his Sinhala Maha Sabha with other smaller parties and formed the United National Party in 1947. He won a seat in the House of Representatives in the 1947 election and the party carried a majority.

Ceylon got self-rule under dominion status in February 1948. D. S. Senanayake, who was the prime minister, appointed him to his cabinet as the first Minister of Health and Local Government of Ceylon and he was also elected as the Leader of the House. Effectively this made Bandaranaike the most senior member of the cabinet, after the Prime Minister.

8. He Became Leader Of The Opposition 

A few years later, he fell out with Senanayake and in July 1951 he resigned from his government posts and crossed the floor to the opposition, and formed a new party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. In the next election, he won his parliamentary seat and was now elected Leader of the Opposition.  

At this point, he spent much of the time consolidating the new party by appealing to the sentiments of the Sinhalese masses in rural areas. He focused on the Five Great Forces which consisted of the native doctors, clergy, teachers, farmers, and workers. He campaigned vigorously, formed a coalition, and won the 1956 elections by a landslide. 

9. He Became Prime Minister But He Was Assassinated 

S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike’s grave in Bandaranaike Samadhi at Horagolla, Sri Lanka. Photo By Anuradha –

The 1956 elections were a landslide victory for him with a two-thirds majority in parliament. He formed a government as the fourth prime minister of Ceylon in April 1956 and appointed his cabinet. His vigorous defense of local causes led to his tenure as Prime Minister being called ‘the age of the common man.  

S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike died on 26th September 1959 four years into his term in office. He was 60 years old at the time. He died at the Colombo General Hospital due to gunshot wounds sustained the day before when a Buddhist monk shot him. 

His body lay in state at the Parliament building for two days. Thousands came to pay their last respects. On the third day, the remains were moved to Horagolla, where the funeral took place in a specially built mausoleum known as the Horagolla Bandaranaike Samadhi.

10. His Wife Became The World’s First Female Prime Minister

Hon S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike – Photo By Government of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) –

After his death, the widow Sirima Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike became the first female prime minister in the world. On 21 July 1960, following a landslide victory for the Freedom Party, Sirima was sworn in as the prime minister as well as Minister of Defence and External Affairs. She continued many of his socialist policies in her administration.  

Many years later, in 1994, his daughter Chandrika Kumaratunga also became Prime Minister and later became the first female Executive president in the country. His only son Anura Bandaranaike also went into politics becoming the Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka from 2000 to 2001 and then a Minister from 2004 to 2008.  

The first-born daughter Sunethra Bandaranaike also followed in her father’s footsteps attending Oxford but not joining politics. She became a prominent socialite. There is a museum, conference hall, statue, college, and airport named in his honor.