Kusumasiri Gunawardena (née Amarasinghe) (1912–1986) was a Ceylonese politician. Kusumasiri was born in Medaketiya (

Tangalle Tangalle ( Sinhala තංගල්ල , ta, தங்கல்லை) (also known as Tangalla) is a large town in Hambantota District, Southern Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. It is one of the largest towns in southern provinc ...

) on 26 May 1912, the daughter of Don Davith Amarasinghe and Sophinona. She was educated at Rahula Maha Vidyalaya,

, St. Mary's Convent Matara and

Musaeus College Musaeus, Musaios ( grc, Μουσαῖος) or Musäus may refer to: Greek poets * Musaeus of Athens, legendary polymath, considered by the Greeks to be one of their earliest poets (mentioned by Socrates in Plato's Apology) * Musaeus of Ephesus, liv ...

, Colombo. She later participated in the Suriya Mal movement and joined the Lanka Sama Samaja Party. On 30 June 1939 she married

Philip Gunawardena Don Philip Rupasinghe Gunawardena (11 January 1901 – 26 March 1972) was a Sri Lankan Marxist politician and leftist. A founder of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, the first political party in Ceylon which was known for having introduced Trotskyi ...

, one of the founders of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, when her husband escaped from detention in Ceylon to India, she followed in disguise. They were both later arrested by Indian police in 1943 and after several months deported back to Ceylon. In 1947 Phillip was elected at 1st parliamentary election as the member for

Avissawella Avissawella, ( si, අවිස්සාවේල්ල, ta, அவிசாவளை) is a township in Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council, situated on the A4 route from Colombo to Ratnapura, Colombo District, Western Province, Sri Lanka ...

, representing the Lanka Sama Samaja Party. In 1948 however he was dismissed from parliament due to his involvement in the General Strike in 1947, losing his civic rights for seven years. He was replaced by Kusumasiri, who was elected unopposed in the 1948 by election, making her the second elected female Member of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

in Sri Lanka. She retained the seat at the 2nd parliamentary elections in 1952, representing the

Viplavakari Lanka Sama Samaja Party Viplavakari Lanka Sama Samaja Party (Revolutionary Ceylon Equal Society Party, Sinhala; විප්ලවකාරි ලංකා සමසමජ පක්ෂය) was a political group in Ceylon, that broke away from the Trotskyist Lanka Sama S ...

. She did not contest the seat of Avissawella following 1956 parliamentary elections in favour of her husband, instead she ran for the seat of Kiriella Electoral District, where she was duly elected. She failed to retain the seat at the March 1960 parliamentary elections. She then unsuccessfully contested the seat of Dehiowita Electoral District in the July 1960 parliamentary elections, polling third after Soma Wickremanayake and A. F. Wijemanne. As a member of parliament she campaigned for equal treatment of women, pushing for women to be recruited to the civil service and be appointed to senior positions in government departments. Her eldest son,

Indika Indika may refer to: * An alternate name of Megasthenes' ''Indica'' People * Indika Anuruddha, Sri Lankan politician * Indika Bandaranayake (b. 1972), Sri Lankan politician * Indika Basnayake (b. 1979), Sri Lankan cricketer * Indika Batuwitara ...

, was a member of parliament and a cabinet member, her second son, Prasanna, was the

Mayor of Colombo The Mayor of Colombo is the Mayor (and head) of the Colombo Municipal Council. The post was created in 1866 when the Colombo Municipal Council was established by the Legislative Council of Ceylon. The Mayor is assisted by the Deputy Mayor and a ...

between 2002 and 2006, her third son,

Dinesh Dinesh (Devanagari: ') is a common Hindu male given name. The Sanskrit word ' is a compound of ' 'day' and ' 'lord', meaning 'day-lord', an epithet of the Sun. Notable people with the name include: * Dinesh, Indian film actor * Dinesh Baboo, Ind ...

, is current prime minister of Sri Lanka, representing the

Colombo Electoral District Colombo Electoral District is one of the 22 multi-member electoral districts of Sri Lanka created by the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. The district is conterminous with the administrative district of Colombo in the Western province. The di ...

and the current leader of the

Mahajana Eksath Peramuna The Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (People's United Front) is a political party in Sri Lanka. The party is currently led by Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, son of Philip Gunawardena, the founder of the party. History Under Philip Gunawardena ...

(MEP), whilst her fourth son, Gitanjana was also a member of parliament and a deputy minister. One of her grandsons, Yadamini Gunawardena, is also a member of parliament.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunawardena, Kusumasiri 1912 births Lanka Sama Samaja Party politicians Members of the 1st Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 2nd Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 3rd Parliament of Ceylon 1986 deaths