Eileene L. Parsons

Last updated

Eileene L. Parsons
Born
Eileene Lucia Stevens

(1930-07-05) 5 July 1930 (age 93) [1]
Tortola
Nationality British Virgin Islands
Education Florida International University
Known forFirst female minister and speaker
Political partyNational Democratic Party
Children2

Eileene Lucia Parsons OBE (born 5 July 1930) is a former British Virgin Islands Government Minister. She was one of the first woman ministers and the first deputy speaker of that government. In local press she is frequently referred to as being a "cultural icon" for her work with the BVI Heritage Dance Company and other local cultural groups. [2]

Contents

Life

Parsons was born on the island of Tortola but some time later she went to live with her mother's sister Constancia Parrott. She and her aunt moved to St Thomas where she attended Charlotte Amalie High School. [3]

Parsons's higher education continued in Puerto Rico where she earned a diploma in dressmaking and attended Oswego State Teachers College (now State University of New York at Oswego) where she studied Industrial Arts and Spanish. She took an associate degree at the College of Virgin Islands (now University of the Virgin Islands) and BSc in hospitality management with a focus on destination promotion at Florida International University.

Work

Parsons taught at schools in the American and British Virgin Islands as well as working as a secretary to high-profile administrators at the college and the Department of Education. For five years she was the registrar and bursar at H. Lavity Stoutt Community College. In her spare time she was involved with a number of cultural and sporting initiatives as well as writing for the local paper and co-writing a book on the history of the performing arts.

Parsons also served as Cultural Officer from 1984-1989 and has been active in culture and sports. She founded the Community Singers and the BVI Heritage Dance Company. [2] She has also written extensively for publication in local newspapers and co-authored the book 1834 - 1984 - One Hundred and Fifty years of Achievement and Development through the Performing Arts. [2]

She also chaired the BVI's Festival Committee from 1975-83. [2]

Politics

Parsons contested the elections in 1983, 1986 and 1990 but it was not until the British Virgin Islands general election in 1995 she was finally successful. She joined the opposition for five years and then joined the Virgin Islands Party and sat on the Government back benches for another two. In 1997 she became the Minister of Health, Education and Welfare. She stood again at the 1999 elections and became the deputy Chief Minister as well as continuing at the Ministry of Health, Education and Welfare until 2000. [4]

At the next election she stood for the National Democratic Party and became Deputy Speaker. [3]

Parsons was appointed an OBE in 2013. There is a lounge at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College which is named in her honour. [5]

Honours and recognition

The Eileene L. Parsons Auditorium at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College was named in honour of Parsons. [6]

Comments

Since her retirement Parsons has occasionally come into the public eye in relation to controversial comments that she has made. In January 2015 she reportedly cursed at Andrew Fahie, the House of Assembly member for the 1st district, and then refused to apologise. [7] In February 2016 in response to a question about a reported 137% budget overrun on public project which had been the subject of much public criticism she suggested that this was normal and it should not be a source for concern. [8]

Electoral history

Eileene L. Parsons electoral history
YearDistrictPartyVotesPercentageWinning/losing marginResult
1983 5th DistrictIndependent15433.2%-33Lost
C. Romney
1986 5th DistrictIndependent15836.2%-26Lost
C. Romney
1990 5th DistrictIndependent25439.2%-47Lost
C. Romney
1995 At-largeIndependent1,6758.59%+240*Won (1st)
1999 At-large Virgin Islands Party 2,2889.56%+631*Won (4th)
2003 At-large National Democratic Party 3,51511.35%+241*Won (3rd)
* For at-large candidates (general elections) who won, this is the vote differential from the 5th placed candidate (i.e. the candidate with the highest number of votes who was not elected). For at-large candidates who lose, this is the vote differential from the 4th placed candidate (i.e. the candidate with the lowest number of votes who was elected).

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orlando Smith</span> British Virgin Islands politician (born 1944)

Daniel Orlando Smith, OBE is a British Virgin Islands politician and the former Premier of the British Virgin Islands from 2011 to 2019 and from 2003 to 2007. He also formerly served as Chief Minister of the British Virgin Islands from 2003 to 2007. He first won the office when his National Democratic Party won the 2003 general election, being the party's first victory at a general election in its history.

The Virgin Islands Party (VIP) is a political party in the British Virgin Islands. It is presently led by Natalio Wheatley. It is the oldest active political party in the British Virgin Islands, and it has won more general elections (seven) than any other political party in the British Virgin Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamilton Lavity Stoutt</span> British Virgin Islander politician (1929–1995)

Hamilton Lavity Stoutt was a British Virgin Islander politician and the first and longest serving Chief Minister of the British Virgin Islands. He won five general elections and serving three non-consecutive terms of office from 1967 to 1971, again from 1979 to 1983 and again from 1986 until his death in 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralph T. O'Neal</span> British Virgin Islands politician (1933–2019)

Ralph Telford O'Neal, OBE was a British Virgin Islander politician. He was the longest ever serving elected representative in the British Virgin Islands, and served as Chief Minister or Premier of the British Virgin Islands for three terms.

General elections were held in the British Virgin Islands on 20 August 2007. The result was a landslide victory for the opposition Virgin Islands Party (VIP) over the incumbent National Democratic Party (NDP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of the British Virgin Islands</span> Politics of a British overseas territory

Politics of the British Virgin Islands takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic dependency, whereby the Premier is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. The British Virgin Islands are an internally self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom. The United Nations Committee on Decolonization includes the islands on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories. The Constitution of the Islands was introduced in 1971 and amended in 1979, 1982, 1991, 1994, 2000 and 2007. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the House of Assembly. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Military defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom.

Sheroma "Brass.Angel" Hodge-Philip is a Virgin Islander model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss British Virgin Islands 2010, the official representative of the British overseas territory to the 2011 Miss Universe pageant.

General elections were held in the British Virgin Islands on 20 February 1995. The result was a victory for the incumbent Virgin Islands Party (VIP) led by Chief Minister Lavity Stoutt. The VIP won a plurality of six seats, and thus were able to form a minority government as no other party or coalition could muster a larger number of seats. The BVI United Party (UP) won three seats, and the Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM) won two seats. The two other seats were won by independents. Shortly after the election Alvin Christopher joined the VIP upon being offered a Ministerial seat, giving the VIP an outright majority.

General elections were held in the British Virgin Islands on 12 November 1990. The result was a decisive victory for the incumbent Virgin Islands Party (VIP) led by Chief Minister Lavity Stoutt. Three other parties contested the election: the BVI United Party (UP) led by Conrad Maduro, the newly formed Progressive People's Democratic Party (PPDP) led by former Chief Minister Willard Wheatley, and the newly formed Independent People's Movement (IPM) which fielded only two candidates. The only candidate from a party other than the VIP to be elected was Omar Hodge of the IPM in the Sixth District. Independent candidates won in the Fourth and Fifth Districts, and the VIP won every other available seat.

General elections were held in the British Virgin Islands on 2 June 1971. The result was a victory for a coalition of the VI Democratic Party (DP) together with independent candidate Willard Wheatley over the newly formed Virgin Islands Party (VIP) led by former Chief Minister Lavity Stoutt, and incumbent BVI United Party (UP) led by Conrad Maduro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands</span> Territorial anthem of the British Virgin Islands

"Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" is the official territorial song of the British Virgin Islands. The song was composed by brother and sister team Kareem Nelson Hull and Ayana Hull, both Virgin Islanders. It was adopted as the territorial song by resolution of the House of Assembly of the Virgin Islands on 24 July 2012. As a British Overseas Territory, the Virgin Islands retains "God Save the King" as its official national anthem.

The H. Lavity Stoutt Community College is a community college in the British Virgin Islands. At present there are only two tertiary institutions in the territory: The University of the West Indies, and H. Lavity Stoutt Community College which has a higher enrollment.

General elections were held in the British Virgin Islands on 14 April 1967. The election was the first general election after the passing of the new Constitution earlier in the same year, which introduced Ministerial Government into the British Virgin Islands for the first time. Elections under the prior Constitution introduced in 1950 to restore the Legislative Council had merely elected legislators. It is probably fair to say that 1967 marked the introduction of true direct democratic rule in the British Virgin Islands. But, notwithstanding the introduction of Ministerial Government, the resulting Legislative Council is still referred to as the 6th Legislative Council in deference to the five prior Councils elected under the 1950 Constitution.

Conrad Antonio Maduro is a British Virgin Islander politician and longtime leader of the United Party. Remarkably, Conrad Maduro has led his party to victory at three different general elections, but has never been appointed Chief Minister.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 British Virgin Islands general election</span>

General elections were held in the British Virgin Islands on 25 February 2019. For the first time, four parties with at least one incumbent member were contesting an election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Fahie</span> British Virgin Islands politician

Andrew Alturo Fahie was a British Virgin Islands politician who served as Premier of the British Virgin Islands from 2019 to 2022. He was also the chairman of the Virgin Islands Party in the British Virgin Islands from 2016 to 2022. He was convicted of a range of charges relating to conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States in 2024.

Events from the year 1995 in the British Virgin Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethlyn Smith</span> British Virgin Islands politician and accountant (1940–2007)

Ethlyn Smith was a civil servant from the British Virgin Islands, who became one of the first two women elected to the House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands. After a career of more than two decades as an accountant and public administrator in the civil service of the British Virgin Islands, Smith retired and entered politics. She contested her first election in 1995 as an independent, winning the 5th District. She was reelected to the post in 1999, serving until her defeat in the 2003 elections.

Eileen Parsons OBE who served as a member of the House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands, including as Minister for of Health, Education and Welfare, Deputy Premier and Deputy Speaker during the course of her political career.

Jennie N. Wheatley MBE is a writer and historian from the British Virgin Islands. A long-standing member of the country's intellectual community, she has worked to preserve and share the islands' history and culture.

References

  1. ↑ Biography Archived 11 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine by the House of Assembly of the Virgin Islands
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Cultural Icon Eileene Parsons Awarded Order Of British Empire (OBE)". BVI Platinum. 15 June 2013.
  3. 1 2 Eileene L. Parsons, The BVI Review, Retrieved 11 February 2016
  4. ↑ Eileene Parsons named in the Queen's Birthday Honours, 14 June 2013, gov.uk, Retrieved 11 February 2016
  5. ↑ EXCLUSIVE: I have been fortunate – Eileene L. Parsons, 19 June 2013, VirginIslandsNewsOnline.com, Retrieved 11 February 2016
  6. ↑ "HLSCC AUDITORIUM NAMED IN HONOUR OF EILEENE L. PARSONS" . Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  7. ↑ "'I have declared war!' – Eileene L. Parsons". Virgin Islands News Online. 4 February 2015. On January 30, 2015 during the opening of Farmers' Week 2015 in Paraquita Bay, Parsons allegedly used profanity to Hon Fahie as he attempted to greet her. Hon Fahie on a social network alleged that Ms Parsons told him, "Boy you better get the f**k from in front of me," and refused to shake his hand.
  8. ↑ "Parsons: Opposition 'talking froth' about projects". BVI News. 12 February 2016. Archived from the original on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016. "Personally, I cannot comment on it intelligently (the cruise pier project). But I have been in Council (House of Assembly), and you start out saying you are going to spend 10 cents and when you look it comes to 12 cents; then it comes to 24 cents. You can't control the variances. So I honestly don't know what they are talking about."
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.