At the time of Mrs Bandaranaike giving birth to a son, S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, who was the then Minister of Health and Indigenous Medicine, was at the foot of the Sri Maha Bodhiya in Anuradhapura. Named after this ancient capital of Sri Lanka, Anura Priyadarshi Solomon Dias Bandaranaike followed in his parents’ footsteps, entering the political arena for the first time in 1977 from the Nuwara Eliya-Maskeliya electorate. During his political career, Anura Bandaranaike served as Leader of the Opposition from 1983 to 1988, Speaker of the 11th Parliament of Sri Lanka and held several Ministerial portfolios including Foreign Affairs, Tourism, Industry and Investment and National Heritage. He passed away on 16th March 2008.