With the landslide victory of S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike in the 1956 election in which the LSSP was part of the Bandaranaike 's coalition , Dahanayake was appointed Minister of Education by Bandaranaike in 1956 . In 1959 , he became the acting leader of the house after the incumbent C. P. de Silva was taken to London for treatment after getting badly ill after consuming a glass of milk at a cabinet meeting . Bandaranaike had been scheduled to go to New York to attend the UN General Assembly in late September 1959 . With the absence of C. P. de Silva , Bandaranaike had sent a letter to the Governor General recommending that he appoint Dahanayake as acting Prime Minister during his absence . Bandaranaike was assassinated on September 26 , 1959 and with the letter as a reference , Sir Oliver Goonetilleke , the Governor General of Ceylon appointed Dahanayake as Prime Minister . He was later confirmed by Parliament in this position . He also took on the office of cabinet minister of defence , external affairs , and education . He led the caretaker government for a year that proved to be controversial and difficult . He changed many ministers , sacking them overnight . His most notable action was the repeal of the Capital Punishment Act which suspended capital punishment in Ceylon
Bandaranaike was assassinated
Assassination of S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike
Wijeyananda Dahanayake