When James Obeyesekere was the member of parliament for Attanagalla from 1960 to 1965, Siva Obeyesekere organized community health programmes in 127 villages in the Attanagalle electorate and actively began to develop handicraft and handloom centres. In 1961, she was appointed chairman of the Small Industries Board. In 1963, she was appointed the chairman of the Accommodation Committee and a member of the Tourist Development Council that drafted the Tourist Development Act. In 1964, she started the Laksala, which was the first Government Cottage Industries Emporium and became the chairman of its advisory board. She also established the Craftsman's Association of Sri Lanka promoting the Master Craftsman's Apprenticeship Scheme. In 1973, she was elected president of the National Artisans and Craftsman's Association.[1]
Parliament and Minister
She contested the Mirigama electorate in the 1965 general election from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and won the seat defeating Wijayabahu Wijayasinha and entered parliament. She retained her seat in the 1970 general election defeating Professor W. S. Karunaratne. She was appointed Parliamentary Secretary of Health by Sirimavo Bandaranaike in 1970 and was promoted to Minister of Health in 1976 succeeding George Rajapaksa. During her tenure, she introduced the National Family Health Programme, which was later adopted by the United Nations as an international model. Senator Edward Kennedy gave her a special award of appreciation for her efforts. In 1973, she was elected vice president of the Status of Women in Family Planning conference in Djakarta and lead the Sri Lankan delegation to the World Population Conference in Bucharest. She was elected vice president of the World Health Organization Conference in Geneva in 1977. However, she was defeated in the 1977 general election in the landslid victory of the United National Party.[1]
Later work
She founded the Lakpahana, a private company that sold local handicrafts. In 1991, President Ranasinghe Premadasa awarded her the Deshamanya title and was elected the first president of the World Craft's Council affiliated to UNESCO. In 1993, she was the "Kamala Saamaan" in memory of Kamala Devi Chattopadyayi of India for the development of Laksala. In 2006, she was appointed National Consultant to the Ministry of Rural Industries and Self-Employment Promotion and was later appointed a presidential adviser to President Mahinda Rajapakse. In 2009, she was appointed to the S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike National Memorial Foundation by President Rajapakse.[1]
Family
Siva Dassenaike married James Obeyesekere and they had two children, James Peter Obeyesekere IV and Chantal De Saram.[1]
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