Veronica Nnaji | |
---|---|
Member of the House of Representatives | |
In office 1979–1983 | |
Constituency | Isu |
Personal details | |
Born | Umuaka,Nigeria | 10 January 1940
Veronica Ogechi Nnaji (born 10 January 1940) is a Nigerian nurse and politician. In 1979 she was one of the first group of three women to take their seats in the House of Representatives.
Nnaji was born in Umuaka in January 1940,one of seven children of farmer Therea Ezendu and trader Mathias Ezendu. [1] She was educated at Holy Rosary School between 1948 and 1955, [2] after which she trained as a nurse at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Ihiala from 1956 to 1960. [1] She then attended the School of Hygiene in Aba and the Health Centre in Nsukka,qualifying as a nurse in 1963. [1] She subsequently worked at Amaigbo Joint Hospital in Nkwerre between 1963 and 1965,after which she worked at the Motherless Babies Home in Okwelle until 1970. [1] [2] She married in 1965 and had five children. [2] In 1974 she became the owner of a maternity home. [2]
In the 1979 parliamentary elections,Nnaji was a Nigerian People's Party candidate in Isu and was elected to the House of Representatives. Alongside Abiola Babatope and Justina Eze,she was one of the first three women elected to Parliament to take their seats (Esther Soyannwo had been elected in 1964 but did not take her seat). [3] She served in parliament until 1983. [2]
Nontsikelelo Albertina Sisulu was a South African anti-apartheid activist,and the wife of fellow activist Walter Sisulu (1912–2003). She was affectionately known as "Ma Sisulu" throughout her lifetime by the South African public. In 2004 she was voted 57th in the SABC3's Great South Africans. She died on 2 June 2011 in her home in Linden,Johannesburg,South Africa,aged 92.
Edith Dircksey Cowan was an Australian social reformer who worked for the rights and welfare of women and children. She is best known as the first Australian woman to serve as a member of parliament. Cowan has been featured on the reverse of Australia's 50-dollar note since 1995.
Kathryn Jean Martin Sullivan AM is a former Australian politician. A member of the Liberal Party,she was a Senator for Queensland from 1974 to 1984 and a member of the House of Representatives from 1984 to 2001,holding the seat of Moncrieff. She broke Dorothy Tangney's record for the longest period of service in federal parliament by a woman,which was later surpassed by Bronwyn Bishop. She was the first woman to have served in both houses of parliament.
Gracie Bowers Pfost was the first woman to represent Idaho in the United States Congress,serving five terms as a Democrat in the House of Representatives. Pfost represented the state's 1st district from 1953 to 1963.
Edmund William Barker was a Singaporean politician and lawyer who authored the Proclamation of Singapore. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP),he served in the Cabinet between 1964 and 1988. Barker also served as Leader of the House between 1968 and 1985.
William Rathbone VI was an English merchant and businessman noted for his philanthropic and public work. He was an English Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1868 and 1895.
Robert Washington Shirley,13th Earl Ferrers,,styled Viscount Tamworth between 1937 and 1954,was a British Conservative politician and member of the House of Lords as one of the remaining hereditary peers. He was one of the few people to serve in the governments of five prime ministers.
Lucilla Matthew Andrews Crichton was a British writer of 33 romance novels from 1954 to 1996. As Lucilla Andrews she specialised in hospital romances,and under the pen names Diana Gordon and Joanna Marcus wrote mystery romances.
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 incumbent Liz Truss (2022–present). 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.
Juliana Jocelyn Azumah-Mensah is a Ghanaian politician and nurse. She was the Minister for Women and Children's Affairs. She is also the Member of Parliament for Ho East constituency.
Georgina Mary Crozier is an Australian politician. She has been a Liberal Party member of the Victorian Legislative Council since 2010,representing Southern Metropolitan Region. She currently serves as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council.
Irene Swatridge,née Irene Maude Mossop was a British writer of over 175 children's and romance novels.
Uche Lilian Ekwunife,is a Nigerian politician,and member of the 9th Nigerian Senate representing the people of Anambra Central Senatorial District of Anambra State and she is known as one of the most active female senators in the House.
Sa'adatu Kande Balarabe was a Nigerian politician from Kano State. She was among a trio of women elected into the Nigerian House of Representatives in 1983. She has served in various positions in her state including the director of Kano State's women's commission.
Dorothy Alice Cornelius was a Registered Nurse from Ohio who served in executive and in leadership positions in nursing. Cornelius was the only person to be president of the American Nurses Association,the International Council of Nurses,and the American Journal of Nursing Company.
Peace Uzoamaka Nnaji is a Nigerian politician. She was first elected on the platform of the People's Democratic Party in 2007 and had her second sojourn in 2011 in the Nigerian House of Representatives.
Juliet Nene Akano is a Nigerian politician. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2007 and in 2011.
Muriel Odessa "Nellie" Weekes was a Bajan nurse and midwife who was active in women's rights issues. Campaigning for better pay and working in social welfare projects,she turned to politics in the 1940s at a time when most women were not politically active in Barbados. Though she unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the House of Assembly three times in the 1940s,she was elected to the Christ Church Vestry in 1958,serving for many years.
Ibrahim Jalo Waziri,COS,CFR was a teacher,administrator,traditional leader and politician from North Nigeria who was twice elected as the Speaker Federal House of the Representative of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963 and 1963 until the 1966 Military coup in January.
Kyllikki Pohjala was a Finnish politician and nurse. She was a member of the Parliament of Finland from 1933 to 1962 and served as the minister of social affairs from October to December 1963.