Sunethra Bandaranaike is a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

and

socialite A socialite is a person from a wealthy and (possibly) aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having traditio ...

. A member of the

Bandaranaike family The Bandaranaike family is a Sri Lankan Sinhalisation of Kerala Tamil family origin that is prominent in family politics. Along with many members who have been successful politician across generations, the family includes three Prime Ministers a ...

, she is the eldest daughter of former Prime Ministers S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and

Sirimavo Bandaranaike Sirima Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike ( si, සිරිමා රත්වත්තේ ඩයස් බණ්ඩාරනායක; ta, சிறிமா ரத்வத்தே டயஸ் பண்டாரநாயக்கே; 17 April 191 ...

and sister of former President

Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga ( si, චන්ද්‍රිකා බණ්ඩාරනායක කුමාරතුංග, ta, சந்திரிகா பண்டாரநாயக்க குமாரதுங்க; born 29 Ju ...

and former Speaker of Parliament

Anura Bandaranaike Anura Priyadarshi Solomon Dias Bandaranaike (15 February 1949 – 16 March 2008) was a Sri Lankan politician, served as Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka (2000-2001) and Leader of the Opposition (1983–1988). He held several cabinet min ...

Early life and Career

Sunethra Bandaranaike was born on 27 July 1943. Bandaranaike completed her schooling at

St Bridget's Convent, Colombo St. Bridget's Convent is a private girls' school in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It was founded on 1 February 1902 by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd order, making it one of the earliest Irish mission schools of the Roman Catholic Church in Ceylon. ...

, and received a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from

Somerville College Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, Ir ...

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

.Sunethra Bandaranaike
She worked as a researcher in the Minority Rights Group and the

Overseas Development Institute ODI (formerly the 'Overseas Development Institute') is a global affairs think tank, founded in 1960. Its mission is "to inspire people to act on injustice and inequality through collaborative research and ideas that matter for people and the p ...

and held the post of Coordinating Secretary to the

Prime Minister of Sri Lanka The Prime Minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the head and most senior member of parliament in the cabinet of ministers. It is the second-most powerful position in Sri Lanka's executive branch behind the president, wh ...

during her mother's tenure. She currently chairs the Sunera Foundation, a NGO which works with differently abled youth and adults.

Personal life

Sunethra has been married twice. Her marriage to Kumar Rupesinghe lasted four years and her second marriage was to Udaya Nanayakkara which lasted nine years.

Gallery

File:Sunethra Bandaranaike's residence at Horagolla.jpg, Sunethra Bandaranaike's residence at Horagolla File:Sunethra Bandaranaike's residence at Horagolla, Sri Lanka.jpg, Sunethra Bandaranaike's residence at Horagolla

References

External links

Sunera Foundation

Sri Lankan philanthropists Sinhalese women Sri Lankan Buddhists Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford Alumni of St. Bridget's Convent, Colombo Living people Sunethra Ratwatte family Sunethra 1943 births {{SriLanka-politician-stub

Early life and Career

Personal life

Gallery

See also

References

External links