The social, cultural, religious and national forces essential for building a political force which would fulfill these national hopes and aspirations were developing by this time. The national force represented by the birth of the SLFP.

The 1952 general election, which the SLFP fought on three major issues - religion, swabasha and ayurveda -,stimulated the emotions of the rural voter whose emergence as an arbiter in politics was a political development of fundamental importance. It was only in 1952 that the voters demonstrated a visible interest in party conflicts and this was primarily because of the for­mation of the SLFP as a democratic alternative to the UNP which was in power, and the fact that the SLFP was able to obtain nine seats in Parliament showed that it has emerged as the largest single party in the opposi­tion. This helped the leader of the SLFP Hon. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike to become the Leader of the Opposition.

First Committee Members in SLFP

• President – Mr. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike
• Joint Secretaries – Mr. Bernard Aluvihara
• Mr. Badiudeen Mahamod
• Mr. S. Thangaraja

Treasure  - Mr. George R. De Silva

Born on 17 April, 1916. She was elected Prime Minister of Sri Lanka three times, 1960-1965, 1970-1977 and 1994-2000, and was privilleged to be elected the world's first woman Prime Minister, in 1960. The mantle of leadership of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, was bestowed on her. She was also the wife of the former Sri Lankan Prime Minister, late Hon. Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike and subsequently the mother of Sri Lanka's third President, Mdm. Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. She was also the mother of Anura Bandaranaike.

On her husband's assassination, Madam Bandaranaike took over the leadership of his Sri Lanka Freedom Party, which he had formed and led to election victory in 1956, and safeguarded it for forty years until her death.

Her second term saw a new Constitution introduced, which ended the country's status as a Commonwealth realm. Ceylon was renamed Sri Lanka and declared a Republic.

From 1994 to 2000, until her death, she held office as a Prime Minister while her daughter Mdm. Chandrika Bandaranike Kumaratunga was the President.

Mdm. Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumarathunge (born 29th June 1945) was the fifth President (and fourth to hold the office as Executive president) of Sri Lanka (12 November 1994 - 19 November 2005). She was the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party until end of 2005. She was Sri Lanka's first woman President.

Mdm. Kumaratunge herself was elected Prime Minister of a People's Alliance (PA) government on August 19, 1994 and President in the presidential election held shortly thereafter in November 1994. This ended 17 years of UNP rule. She appointed her mother to succeed her as Prime Minister. Early in her term she made conciliatory moves towards the separatist Tamil Tigers to attempt to end the on-going civil war. These overtures failed, and she later pursued a more military-based strategy against them.

In October 1999 Kumaratunga called an early presidential election. She lost her right eye in an assassination attempt, allegedly by the separatist Tamil Tigers, at her final election rally at Colombo Town Hall premises on 18th December 1999.

Mdm. Kumaratunga's PA and the leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna or JVP (People's Liberation Front) United in forming the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) in January 2004. Having won the election held on 2 April 2004 the UPFA formed a government with Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister. This marked the first time in history that the JVP became a partner in a Sri Lankan government.

Kumaratunga's twelve year ended in November 2005.