wOMEN in ParliamenT

I SABE l T ESHEA

First woman to be elected to the House of Representatives ms. isabel Ursula Teshea was born on July 24, 1911 in Princes Town. ms. Teshea attended the Princes Town government School. She also attended special courses in Community ducation at the University of Puerto rico in 1958. ms. Teshea was an active leader in social work and politics. She was one of the founding members of the Women’s Volunteer Service and an early member of the People’s national movement. ms. Teshea became lady Vice-Chairman of the Pnm in 1956, a post she retained for a number of years. in 1961, she became Parliamentary Secretary to the minister of local government and Community development. She was minister of health and housing from 1963 to 1967 and minister of housing from 1967 to 1970. between 1970 and 1971 ms. Teshea was appointed ambassador to ethiopia and Zambia and from 1974 high Commissioner to guyana, a post she held until her retirement in 1977 at the age of 66. ms. isabel Teshea was the recipient of the Trinity Cross for public service in 1981; an award which was made posthumously, since she died on april 14 of that year at the age of 69.

Ms. Isabel Teshea was a woman of many firsts in the history of Trinidad and Tobago - the first woman elected to the house of representatives (1961), the first female Minister and the first woman to serve as an ambassador for this country.