# Second Sirimavo Bandaranaike cabinet

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

| Name | Party | Office | Took office | Left office |
| Senator Sirimavo Bandaranaike | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Prime Minister | 29 May 1970 | 23 July 1977 |
| Senator Sirimavo Bandaranaike | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Minister of Defence and External Affairs | 31 May 1970 | |
| Senator Sirimavo Bandaranaike | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Minister of Defence and Foreign Affairs | | |
| Senator Sirimavo Bandaranaike | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Minister of Planning and Employment | 31 May 1970 | |
| Senator Sirimavo Bandaranaike | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs | | |
| Senator Sirimavo Bandaranaike | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Minister of Plan Implementation | | |
| W. P. G. Ariyadasa | | Minister of Local Government | | |
| Felix Dias Bandaranaike | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Minister of Public Administration, Local Government and Home Affairs | 31 May 1970 | |
| Felix Dias Bandaranaike | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Minister of Justice | 1970 | 1975 |
| Felix Dias Bandaranaike | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Minister of Finance | 3 September 1975 | 18 May 1977 |
| Colvin R. de Silva | Lanka Sama Samaja Party | Minister of Plantation Industries | 31 May 1970 | 2 September 1975 |
| Colvin R. de Silva | Lanka Sama Samaja Party | Minister of Constitutional Affairs | | 2 September 1975 |
| M. P. de Zoysa | | Minister of Labour | | |
| Leslie Goonewardene | Lanka Sama Samaja Party | Minister of Communications | 31 May 1970 | |
| Leslie Goonewardene | Lanka Sama Samaja Party | Minister of Transport | | 2 September 1975 |
| T. B. Ilangaratne | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Minister of Foreign and Internal Trade | | |
| T. B. Ilangaratne | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Minister of Trade | | |
| T. B. Ilangaratne | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Minister of Public Administration and Home Affairs | | |
| P. B. G. Kalugalla | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Minister of Shipping, Aviation and Tourism | | |
| Pieter Keuneman | Communist Party | Minister of Housing and Construction | 31 May 1970 | February 1977 |
| Hector Kobbekaduwa | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Minister of Agriculture and Lands | | |
| S. S. Kulatileke | | Minister of Social Services | | |
| Senator Chelliah Kumarasuriar | | Minister of Posts and Telecommunications | 31 May 1970 | |
| Badi-ud-din Mahmud | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Minister of Education | 31 May 1970 | |
| N. M. Perera | Lanka Sama Samaja Party | Minister of Finance | 31 May 1970 | 2 September 1975 |
| R. S. Perera | | Minister of Information and Broadcasting | | |
| George Rajapaksa | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Minister of Health | | |
| George Rajapaksa | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Minister of Fisheries | | |
| K. B. Ratnayake | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Sports | 1972 | 1976 |
| K. B. Ratnayake | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Minister of Transport | | |
| Maithripala Senanayake | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Minister of Irrigation, Power and Highways | 31 May 1970 | |
| T. B. Subasinghe | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Minister of Industries and Scientific Affairs | | 1 March 1977 |
| S. K. K. Suriarachchi | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Minister of Food, Co-operatives and Small Industries | | |
| T. B. Tennekoon | | Minister of Cultural Affairs | | |
| Ratnasiri Wickremanayake | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Minister of Plantation Industries | | |
| Ratnasiri Wickremanayake | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Minister of Justice | 1975 | 1977 |

## Parliamentary secretaries and deputy ministers

| Name | Party | Office | Took office | Left office |
| A. L. Abdul Majeed | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Deputy Minister of Information and Broadcasting | | |
| C. A. Atapattu | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Post and Telecommunication | | |
| B. H. Bandara | | Deputy Minister of Housing and Construction | | |
| Neal de Alwis | | Deputy Minister of Finance | 1 October 1975 | 4 February 1977 |
| Vivienne Goonewardene | Lanka Sama Samaja Party | Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Local Government | 1970 | 1975 |
| T. B. M. Herath | | Deputy Minister of Transport | | |
| Lakshman Jayakody | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Deputy Minister of Defence and External Affairs | | |
| S. D. R. Jayaratne | | Deputy Minister of Fisheries | | |
| Albert Kariyawasam | | Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries | | |
| V. T. G. Karunaratne | | Deputy Minister of Posts and Telecommunications | | |
| H. M. Navaratne | | Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Lands | | |
| Siva Obeyesekere | | Deputy Minister of Health | | |
| P. R. Ratnayake | | Deputy Minister of Trade | | |
| G. W. Samarasinghe | | Deputy Minister of Social Services | | |
| Ratna Deshapriya Senanayake | | Deputy Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs | | |
| Ratna Deshapriya Senanayake | | Deputy Minister of Plan Implementation | | |
| Senerath Somaratne | | Deputy Minister of Irrigation, Power and Highways | | |
| Hemachandra Sirisena | | Deputy Minister of Labour | | |
| B. Y. Tudawe | Communist Party | Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Education | | 1977 |
| B. Y. Tudawe | Communist Party | Deputy Minister of Education | | February 1977 |
| Ratnasiri Wickremanayake | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Deputy Minister of Justice | 1970 | 1975 |
| M. M. Mustapha | | Deputy Minister of Justice | 1975 | 1997 |
| D. P. Wickremasinghe | | Deputy Minister of Shipping and Tourism | | |