Chandrika Kumaratunga is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the fifth President of Sri Lanka for over a decade, from late 1994 till 2005. She is the only woman President of the country till date. Born as Chandrika Bandaranaike, she is one of the scions of a politically influential family of Sri Lanka. Both her parents S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and Sirimavo Bandaranaike served as Prime Minister of the country. She faced severe personal tragedies in her life with her father S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and her husband, matinee idol cum politician Wijaya Kumaratunga being assassinated by political opponents in 1959 and 1988 respectively. She led the ‘Sri Lanka Freedom Party’ (‘SLFP’) for over a decade till 2005. Her tenure as President was marked with privatisation of state enterprises. She strived to eliminate corruption by incorporating new laws and institutions. She advocated for a free market economy and despite the ongoing civil war and ethnic rivalries, the country witnessed annual economic growth rates. She took a more conciliatory stand and came forward to mitigate the civil war going on between the separatist terror group and the government by way of negotiations and peace talks to enable Sri Lanka develop into a more multicultural society.