Grace d'Almeida Adamon

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Grace Antonia Almeida Benoite Adamon , better known as Grace d'Almeida Adamon (born March 21, 1951 in Dakar , French West Africa ; † May 12, 2005 in Paris , France ) was a Beninese lawyer, feminist and human rights activist.

Life

Youth and education

Grâce d'Almeida Adamon was born on March 21, 1951 in Dakar, the then capital of the French colonial federation Afrique-Occidentale française (French West Africa). She attended the nuns primary school in Porto-Novo , Benin . She later attended the Lycée Catholique Notre Dame Des Apôtres in Cotonou . In 1972 D'Almeida Adamon moved to Guebwiller , France, to complete her Baccalaureat there. She later studied law at the Sorbonne , specializing in maritime law and labor rights. After her postgraduate DEA , she also acquired the CEPA certificate at the Pantheon-Assas .

Work as a lawyer and legal advisor

She started working as a lawyer in Paris in 1977 but returned to Cotonou in 1978. There she worked as a law professor at the Université National de Benin and distinguished herself particularly through the defense of women's rights.

In 1990 D'Almeida Adamon was selected along with twelve other representatives to work out a new democratic constitution for Benin - as part of the newly proclaimed National Conference (see History of Benin ). She was the only female member. In 1990 she also founded the Association des Femmes Juristes du Bénin ("Association of Women Lawyers of Benin"). The organization is committed to this day for better access to legal remedies for women and defends children's and women's rights.

From November 22, 1995 to April 6, 1996, she headed the justice department in the government of Benin.

International commitment

D'Almeida Adamon was also known internationally and earned a reputation. Among other things, she was involved in the UN program “Burkina Faso's Democratic Center for Domestic Governance” and was the first member (of eleven) of the International Kosovo Commission . In 1995 she took part in the fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. She worked temporarily as the first technical advisor ( Chief Technical Advisor ) for the UN development program and also headed the “UN Justice Project” in Haiti from 2000 to 2003.

Grâce d'Almeida Adamon died on May 12, 2005 in Paris. She was divorced and had three children.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Tiffany Gleason: D'Almeida Adamon, Grace . In: Henry Louis Gates and Emmanuel Kwaku Akyeampong. (Ed.): Dictionary of African Biography . OUP USA, ISBN 978-0-19-538207-5 , pp. 160 f .
  2. ↑ Cindy Shiner: Benin's Ex-Amazons Hold Purse Strings. Christian Science Monitor, October 5, 1999, accessed October 30, 2016 .
personal data
SURNAME Almeida Adamon, Grace d '
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Adamon, Grace Antonia Almeida Benoite; Almeida Adamon, Grace d '
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Beninese lawyer, feminist and human rights activist
DATE OF BIRTH March 21, 1951
PLACE OF BIRTH Dakar , French West Africa
DATE OF DEATH May 12, 2005
Place of death Paris , France