The Second Sirimavo Bandaranaike cabinet was the central government of Ceylon led by Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike between 1970 and 1977. It was formed in May 1970 after the parliamentary election and it ended in July 1977 after the opposition's victory in the parliamentary election. The second Sirimavo Bandaranaike cabinet saw Ceylon severing the last colonial ties with Britain as the country became a parliamentary republic in May 1972. The country was also renamed Sri Lanka.
By July 1970, a Constitutional Assembly replaced the British-drafted constitution with one drafted by the Ceylonese. Policies were introduced requiring that permanent secretaries in the government ministries have expertise in their division. For example, those serving in the Ministry of Housing had to be trained engineers, and those serving in the Ministry of Health, medical practitioners. All government employees were allowed to join Workers Councils and at the local level, she established People's Committees to allow input from the population at large on government administration. The changes were intended to remove elements of British colonisation and foreign influence from the country's institutions.
The Cabinet was made up of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) and the Communist Party of Sri Lanka in a coalition government as the United Front. Key members of the LSSP were given cabinet roles, including Leslie Goonewardene, N. M. Perera, Colvin R. de Silva and others. The LSSP was dismissed from the cabinet by Bandaranaike in September 1975, ending the United Front, and in February 1972 the Communist Party also left the government.
Cabinet members
NamePortraitPartyOfficeTook officeLeft officeRefs Sri Lanka Freedom Party Prime Minister Minister of Defence and External Affairs Minister of Defence and Foreign Affairs Minister of Planning and Employment Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs Minister of Plan Implementation Minister of Local Government Sri Lanka Freedom Party Minister of Public Administration, Local Government and Home Affairs Minister of Justice 1970 1975 Minister of Finance Lanka Sama Samaja Party Minister of Plantation Industries Minister of Constitutional Affairs Minister of Labour Lanka Sama Samaja Party Minister of Communications Minister of Transport Sri Lanka Freedom Party Minister of Foreign and Internal Trade Minister of Trade Minister of Public Administration and Home Affairs Sri Lanka Freedom Party Minister of Shipping, Aviation and Tourism Communist Party Minister of Housing and Construction Sri Lanka Freedom Party Minister of Agriculture and Lands Minister of Social Services Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Sri Lanka Freedom Party Minister of Education Lanka Sama Samaja Party Minister of Finance Minister of Information and Broadcasting Sri Lanka Freedom Party Minister of Health Minister of Fisheries Sri Lanka Freedom Party Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Sports Minister of Transport Sri Lanka Freedom Party Minister of Irrigation, Power and Highways Sri Lanka Freedom Party Minister of Industries and Scientific Affairs Sri Lanka Freedom Party Minister of Food, Co-operatives and Small Industries Minister of Cultural Affairs Sri Lanka Freedom Party Minister of Plantation Industries Minister of Justice 1975 1977
Parliamentary secretaries and deputy ministers
NamePortraitPartyOfficeTook officeLeft officeRefs Sri Lanka Freedom Party Deputy Minister of Information and Broadcasting Sri Lanka Freedom Party Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Post and Telecommunication Deputy Minister of Housing and Construction Deputy Minister of Finance Lanka Sama Samaja Party Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Local Government Deputy Minister of Transport Sri Lanka Freedom Party Deputy Minister of Defence and External Affairs Deputy Minister of Fisheries Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries Deputy Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Lands Deputy Minister of Health Deputy Minister of Trade Deputy Minister of Social Services Deputy Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs Deputy Minister of Plan Implementation Deputy Minister of Irrigation, Power and Highways Deputy Minister of Labour Communist Party Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Education Deputy Minister of Education Sri Lanka Freedom Party Deputy Minister of Justice 1970 1975 Deputy Minister of Justice 1975 1997 Deputy Minister of Shipping and Tourism
References