Dame Jennifer M. Smith | |
---|---|
7th Premier of Bermuda | |
In office 9 December 1998 –24 July 2003 | |
Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Governor |
|
Preceded by | Pamela Gordon |
Succeeded by | Alex Scott |
Leader of the Opposition | |
In office 20 August 1996 –9 December 1998 | |
Personal details | |
Born | 1 January 1947 |
Political party | Progressive Labour Party |
Dame Jennifer Meredith Smith,DBE,JP,DHumL,MP [1] (born 1947) is a Bermudian politician who was the Premier of Bermuda from 1998 until 2003,the first premier who was not a member of the United Bermuda Party.
Affectionately referred to as "Dame Jennifer",she has marked her place in Bermuda's history as the first woman to lead a political party to an election victory,the first Progressive Labour Party Shadow Minister of Education, [2] the first and so far only leader of the PLP to lead the party to win two consecutive general elections,the first female Speaker of the House of Assembly and the second woman to serve as Premier.
Smith is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders,an international network of current and former women presidents and prime ministers whose mission is to mobilize the highest-level women leaders globally for collective action on issues of critical importance to women and equitable development.
Smith was born in 1947 in Bermuda,the daughter of a bartender. She was raised as a member of the African Methodist Episcopal church. She exhibited an interest in art from an early age,and later enrolled at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh,from which she earned an associate degree in 1970.[ citation needed ] Upon returning to Bermuda,she began work as a political reporter and editor for the Bermuda Recorder newspaper.
Dame Jennifer Smith first got involved in frontline politics in 1972,running as a Progressive Labour Party candidate,the youngest person to run for elected office in Bermuda's history. [2]
Smith was appointed to the Senate of Bermuda in 1980,becoming Bermuda's youngest Senator and serving in that capacity until 1989.
Dame Jennifer was elected to the House of Assembly of Bermuda in 1989 as a member of the Progressive Labour Party. She was elected deputy party leader in 1994,and succeeded to the leadership two years later upon the death of L. Frederick Wade.
From 1996 until 1998,Dame Jennifer served as the Leader of the Progressive Labour Party and as Bermuda's Opposition Leader.
After two years as Opposition Leader,Smith led her party to victory in parliamentary elections in November 1998,in which the United Bermuda Party,which had dominated elections since autonomy was gained in 1968,suffered an unprecedented defeat.
The Progressive Labour Party again won parliamentary elections in July 2003,but less than a week later,Smith was forced to resign as premier following a coup within her own party. She was replaced by W. Alex Scott,but then was elected as Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly.
Smith was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005. [3]
Bermuda is the oldest British Overseas Territory,and the oldest self-governing British Overseas Territory,and has a great degree of internal autonomy through authority and roles of governance delegated to it by the national Government. Its parliament held its first session in 1620,making it the third-oldest continuous parliament in the world. As part of the British realm,King Charles III is head of state and is represented in Bermuda by a Governor,whom he appoints on the advice of the British Government. The Governor has special responsibilities in four areas:external affairs,defence,internal security,and policing.
William Alexander Scott is a politician in Bermuda who is the MP for the Warwick South East constituency. Between 2003 and 2006 he served as the Premier of Bermuda and leader of the Progressive Labour Party (PLP).
The United Bermuda Party (UBP) was a political party in Bermuda,which represented itself as centrist party with a moderate social and fiscal agenda. The party held power in Bermuda's House of Assembly continuously from 1968 to 1998,the 47-year-old party was dissolved on 30 June 2011 after the majority of its members joined the One Bermuda Alliance.
The Progressive Labour Party (PLP) is one of the three political parties in Bermuda. At the 18 July 2017 general election,the party won 24 of the 36 seats in the Bermudian House of Assembly to become the governing party. The party was founded in 1963,the first political party in Bermuda,and the oldest still active. It formed government from 1998 to 2012,and again since 2017.
Ewart Frederick Brown Jr. is a politician and physician who served as the ninth Premier of Bermuda and leader of the country's Progressive Labour Party (PLP) from 2006 to 2010. He represented Warwick South Central as a Member of Parliament from 1993 to 2010.
Dame Lois Marie Browne-Evans DBE JP was a lawyer and political figure in Bermuda. She led the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) in opposition before being appointed Bermuda's first female Attorney-General. She first gained recognition in 1953 as Bermuda's first female barrister. Browne-Evans died of a suspected stroke on 29 May 2007,at age 79.
General elections were held in Bermuda on 18 December 2007 to elect all 36 members of the House of Assembly. The incumbent Progressive Labour Party (PLP) led by Ewart Brown was returned for a third term,with 22 of the 36 seats of the House of Assembly,with the opposition United Bermuda Party (UBP) winning the remaining 14 seats.
The representation of women in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom has been an issue in the politics of the United Kingdom at numerous points in the 20th and 21st centuries. Originally debate centred on whether women should be allowed to vote and stand for election as Members of Parliament. The Parliament Act 1918 gave women over 21 the right to stand for election as a Member of Parliament. The United Kingdom has had three female Prime Ministers:Margaret Thatcher (1979–1990),Theresa May (2016–2019),and Liz Truss (2022). The publication of the book Women in the House by Elizabeth Vallance in 1979 highlighted the under-representation of women in Parliament. In more modern times concerns about the under-representation of women led the Labour Party to introduce and,decades later,abandon all-women short lists,something which was later held to breach discrimination laws.
Paula Ann Cox CBE is a Bermudian politician and former premier of Bermuda. She has been the leader of the Bermuda Progressive Labour Party (PLP),since 28 October 2010. In accordance with the Bermuda Constitution Order 1968,she was appointed Premier of Bermuda,on Friday,29 October 2010 by Governor Sir Richard Gozney. She was succeeded as Premier by Craig Cannonier on 18 December 2012,when she led her party into election defeat,losing her own seat in the process.
The Hon. Derrick V. Burgess,JP,MP,is a Bermudian politician,former labour union leader and hotel executive. The Hon. Derrick V. Burgess was elected Deputy Leader of the Progressive Labour Party and Deputy Premier of Bermuda on 28 October 2010,immediately following the election of the Hon. Paula Cox,JP,MP as Premier of Bermuda. Four days later,he was named Minister of Public Works.
The One Bermuda Alliance (OBA) is one of two political parties in Bermuda with elected members of the Bermuda's legislative assembly. It was created in May 2011 by the merger of most members of Bermuda's two non-Labour parties,the United Bermuda Party and the Bermuda Democratic Alliance. It won the 2012 election and governed until 2017. Since then,it has been the official opposition in Bermuda's House of Assembly.
General elections were held in Bermuda on 17 December 2012 to elect all 36 members of the House of Assembly. The result was a victory for the One Bermuda Alliance,led by Craig Cannonier,which won 19 seats in the House of Assembly. The incumbent Progressive Labour Party (PLP) lost five seats and government,and Premier Paula Cox lost her Devonshire North West seat,and resigned as leader of the PLP the next day,with Derrick Burgess becoming Acting Party Leader. Marc Bean became PLP leader on 22 December 2012.
Michael Henry Dunkley,JP,MP is a Bermudian politician and businessman who served as the 12th Premier of Bermuda from 2014 to 2017. He was an MP and member general of the One Bermuda Alliance political party and an active businessman on the island.
Dame Pamela Felicity Gordon,DBE is a Bermudian politician who served as Premier of Bermuda from March 1997 until November 1998.
The Hon. Marc A. Bean,JP,MP is a Bermudian politician,and the former Leader of the Opposition. Bean was a Member of Bermuda's Parliament since winning a by-election in 2010,securing the seat of Warwick South Central for the Bermuda Progressive Labour Party (PLP). Previously,Bean had served in the Bermuda Senate. While in government,Bean held various ministerial and junior ministerial portfolios,including Environment,Planning and Infrastructure Strategy. In September 2020,he announced that he was forming a new political party,the Free Democratic Movement,to contest the 2020 Bermudian general election.
General elections were held in Bermuda on 18 July 2017 to elect all 36 members to the House of Assembly. The result was a victory for the opposition Progressive Labour Party,which won 24 of the 36 seats. Incumbent Premier Michael Dunkley subsequently resigned as leader of the One Bermuda Alliance. Bob Richards,a senior minister and deputy premier in Dunkley's government unexpectedly lost his Devonshire East seat.
Edward David Burt is the Premier of Bermuda and leader of the Progressive Labour Party (PLP). Burt is Bermuda's youngest ever premier,having taken office at the age of 38.
Gloria Juanita McPhee OBE was a Bermudian politician who served as a member of the House of Assembly from 1968 to 1980,representing the United Bermuda Party (UBP). She was a government minister from 1968 to 1977,the first woman appointed to the ministry.
Wayne Caines is a Bermudian politician currently serving as a member of the House of Assembly of Bermuda representing Devonshire North West for the Progressive Labour Party.
Kim Wilson is a Bermudian politician and lawyer,who is Minister of Health for the Government of Bermuda. Elected to parliament in 2012,Wilson has held several ministries,as a member of the Progressive Labour Party.
Dame Jennifer Smith, DBE, JP, DHumL, MP
Smith, The Hon Jennifer Meredith, MP, For publ serv, Bermuda.