Ada Mae Edwards

Ada Mae Edwards MBE (* 19th June 1911 , † 2004 ) was the first female Speaker of Parliament (Speaker) of the St. Kitts National Assembly .

Life

Edwards was born in Antigua in 1911 . She trained as a teacher at a college in her home country and in 1930 she moved to St. Kitts . She worked as an Assistant Teacher and in her spare time with the Girl Guides . In 1941 she was promoted to headmistress of a school in Dieppe Bay Town .

In 1948 she did an advanced training course in Port of Spain and on her return she became a supervising teacher for the island of Nevis .

In 1959 she led a program to reduce the high unemployment rate in St. Kitts. To do this, she trained people for domestic services. In this way, numerous unemployed in Canada (? Canada, St. Kitts) could find. She later worked as a home economics supervisor in St. Kitts (1966). In the same year she was honored as a Member of the Order of the British Empire .

Edwards was politically active and became Executive Officer of the St. Kitts-Nevis Trades and Labor Union (1972). She was given permission to represent the Labor Party and was elected Speaker of St. Kitts Assembly (1978). She became the first female speaker in St. Kitts and Nevis . She passed away in 2004.

Honors

In 2011 she was selected as one of the women to be honored in an exhibition on International Women's Day .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Labourspokesman.com: Ada Mae Edwards. 4th March 2016.
2. ↑ ^{a b} The impact of the Labor Movement on women in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis. SKNvibes May 21, 2012.
3. ^ Exhibit Showcases Pioneering Role of Women. SKNList.com.

predecessor	Office	successor
	Speaker of the National Assembly of St. Kitts and Nevis 1978-