Humane, tough and with a fine sense of humour: The many sides of Mrs B
Dharmasiri Peiris recalls working with the world’s first woman Prime Minister Mrs Bandaranaike proved to be outstanding in her role and capacity as minister of external affairs. She had a knack for foreign affairs and an abiding interest in it.
What was it like to work with the world’s first woman prime minister whom I was privileged to serve first as assistant secretary from 1962-1965, and as secretary during her second term as prime minister during the period 1970-1977?
Personalities are not static. They change and evolve. This was as true of Mrs Bandaranaike as of anyone else. Her first administration consisted of the period in which she held no direct political office, in that she was not an elected Member of Parliament. She had given effective and charismatic leadership to her late husband’s political party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) at the behest of that party’s political leaders and its key supporters. Upon the party’s triumph at the polls she was appointed to the second chamber, the Senate and then made prime minister.
According to those who knew her better than I at the time, she entered politics reluctantly and under much pressure from the elders of the party that her husband had founded. Mr SWRD Bandaranaike’s tragic death by assassination in September 1959 was a great shock to her, her family and indeed to the country as a whole. When the subsequent general election came around, she was still in mourning. In fact, during the entire period as prime minister in her first administration, she always wore a white sari and blouse.
My recollection of Mrs Bandaranaike during this period was of a person who was quiet, dignified and serious-minded. She also had a fine sense of humour which was occasionally on display.
The popular belief for some time was that her kinsman, the brilliant young minister of finance Mr Felix Dias Bandaranaike ran the government. But this was fair from true. The strong personality that she was, Mrs Bandaranaike who possessed great self-confidence, could not be hustled nor intimidated. She valued the advice of bright and experienced persons, but ultimately she made the decisions.
By the time she became prime minister for the second time in 1970, she had matured greatly. Her self-confidence had grown, and the death of her husband had become sufficiently distant not to affect her temperament to the extent it did in the 1960s.
Mrs Bandaranaike’s maturity and strength were called into play on several occasions. One such signal event was the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) insurgency of 1971. The advantage of surprise was with the JVP. The attacks commenced on the early hours of the 5th of April 1971 But prior to that based on significant intelligence reports that an attack was imminent, the then Commander of the Army, Gen. Sepala Attygalle made a personal appeal to Mrs Bandaranaike to move out of her private residence at Rosmead Place to her more secure official residence at Temple Trees. But it was difficult to convince the prime minister of the necessity to move. She told the Army Commander “I am not leaving my home. You defend me here.” I was present on this occasion and so was her brother and private secretary Dr Mackie Ratwatte. It took considerable effort on the part of the army commander and the two of us to persuade her to leave for Temple Trees. In retrospect I am amazed at the fearlessness of her stance in a time of peril. While directing operations from Temple Trees during this difficult period she displayed the same calm authority. Meetings went on, one after another, until about midnight. She personally coordinated all important matters of state, civilian and military, including logistical issues pertaining to the functioning of ports, airports, road and passenger transport and food managements. In addition, she also oversaw matters related to the safe functioning of essential services such as electricity, water and telecommunications. My colleagues and I from the public service assisted her with ideas and helped her work out strategies to deal with any and every contingency. But the major decisions were hers; and when they were taken, there was no micro-management. There was follow-up review and fire-fighting due to unforeseen circumstances but there was no interference in operational matters. Anyone who came to her with a problem, walked away with a solution due to the decisive nature of the prime minister. Alongside the efficient discharge of her official duties, she did not overlook her role as hostess at this trying time. She was conscientious, punctual and as we discovered, had enormous reserves of stamina.
The next matter I wish to advert to was her attitude to the public service and to public servants. In this she was most proper. In her office there was a clear dividing line between official duties pertaining to governance and other matters.
The prime minister took care to observe the proprieties of the public service which in the 1970s was much less politicised than it is now.
Mrs Bandaranaike proved to be outstanding in her role and capacity as minister of external affairs. She had a knack for foreign affairs and an abiding interest in it. She enjoyed handling the subject as anyone who worked with her will attest. Non-alignment was central to her vision. She saw it as a way for developing countries to avoid getting dragged into the power struggles of big powers locked in diverse conflicts. She was not however unaware of certain other international obligations. That is why she took the considerable risk of permitting a hijacked aircraft to land at Katunayake airport for refuelling when the prime minister of Malaysia made a fervent appeal to her. She took the view that there was an obligation to help a friendly country in dire need and that certain risks had to be taken in such a context. Whenever she travelled abroad, she was received and treated with great respect by her hosts. When we travelled to Cairo in 1970 for President Nasser’s funeral, for instance, the reception she received from the political figures of the Arab world was vividly indicative of the high esteem in which she was held.
On our visit to the Soviet Union in
November 1974 on the invitation of the Soviet government we had two sessions of official talks with prime minister Kosygin and his team of advisors. The prime minister was keen to explore the possibility of obtaining Soviet aid for certain development projects. The discussions dragged on because she was trying to get the best terms possible. At one stage PM Kosygin wagged a finger at her and said, “You are a hard lady.” She smiled and replied, “If I am it is for the sake of my country.” The overall discussions were held in a very cordial atmosphere. This is only one episode which throws some light on Mrs Bandaranaike’s character, her tenacity in particular.
Mrs Bandaranike’s strength was that she was prepared to argue as well as listen to an argument and many were the times when she did not permit political considerations or expediency alone to dominate her thinking. Let me cite the case of a senior and influential minister when she thought he had acted unjustly due to political considerations. When the minister told her in response that the issue concerned a UNP supporter, she angrily asked whether those who belong to the UNP were not citizens of this country.
She was a humane, serious-minded, hard working, dedicated and courteous person with a fine sense of humour. She was considerate at all times in her dealings with the public service and especially so to the officials who worked closely with her. She relied much on decision-making by consensus most of the time. But on occasion, like all leaders she could be stubborn and stick to her strong personal views.
Non-alignment was central to her vision. She saw it as a way for developing countries to avoid getting dragged into the power struggles of big powers locked in diverse conflicts.