when the Prime Minister (in this case Dudley Senanayake, son of his old friend) lost Parliament's confidence. In the event he dissolved the parliament and called for fresh elections. He briefly held the portfolio of Minister of Finance from 21 March 1960 to 23 April 1960. Bandaranaike's widow Sirima Bandaranaike was selected by his party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party as its leader and won elections in July 1960. Goonetilleke called on Mrs Bandaranaike to form a government, and thus she became the world's first female Prime Minister. 1962 attempted military coup In January 1962, the information surfaced of an attempted military coup against the government of Mrs Bandaranaike. Felix Dias Bandaranaike, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence and External Affairs (and the Prime Minister's nephew), stated in Parliament on 18 February that Goonetilleke had been cited in the investigations as having been involved in the conspiracy. Goonetilleke, while denying that he had played any such role, indicated that he had no objection to being questioned by the police. But this was not enough for Mrs Bandaranaike, who was determined to force him out of office if she could. Bradman Weerakoon, the Prime Minister's secretary, was dispatched to London in person, there to convey to the Queen Mrs Bandaranaike's request that a new Governor-General be appointed. On 26 February, Radio Ceylon announced that the Queen had accepted the Prime Minister's recommendation that William Gopallawa be made the new Governor-General, his term to take effect on 20 March. Gopallawa was Mrs Bandaranaike's uncle, and she hoped that he would be more subservient to her than Goonetilleke had ever been. Meanwhile Goonetilleke quietly vacated Queen's House on 2 March and afterwards left the country. His tenure had lasted eight years and had included the reigns of five prime ministers. Later life Goonetilleke settled into a retired life in London, in a self-imposed exile. In the investigation into the attempted military coup, some of the crown witnesses tried to link him and former Prime Ministers, Dudley Senanayake and Colonel Sir John Kotelawala, with the conspiracy; this was never proven. In his retirement in London, Sir Oliver with his considerable accumulated wealth became an underwriting member of Lloyd's of London and moved in the social circles of the day. He was also an avid horse racing enthusiast and horse owner with his horses racing at Epsom and Ascot. In 1964, he was accused by Philip Gunawardena