Ann-Marie Theresa Vaz (née Lyew; born 13 March 1966) is a Jamaican politician who is the Member of Parliament for the

Portland Eastern Portland East is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Representatives of the Jamaican Parliament. It elects one Member of Parliament MP by the first past the post system of election. It is represented by Labour MP Ann-Mari ...

constituency.

Life

She was born Ann-Marie Theresa Lyew on 13 March 1966 and raised in the Duff House district, bordering

Manchester Parish The Parish of Manchester is a parish located in west-central Jamaica, in the county of Middlesex. Its capital, Mandeville, is a major business centre. Its St. Paul of the Cross Pro-Cathedral is the episcopal see of the Latin Catholic Dioces ...

and

Saint Elizabeth Parish Saint Elizabeth, one of Jamaica's largest parishes, is located in the southwest of the island, in the county of Cornwall. Its capital, Black River, is located at the mouth of the Black River, the widest on the island. History Saint Elizabet ...

. Lyew lived with her grandmother, mother, and half-sister Trisha Thompson, among other relatives. Lyew attended the Bull Savannah Basic School, then New Forest Primary and Junior High, followed by the

Hampton School Hampton School (formerly Hampton Grammar School) is an independent boys' day school in Hampton, London, Hampton, Greater London, England. It is regarded as one of the top independent schools in the country. Hampton School’s A-Level and GCSE ...

. She also studied at Alpha Academy and Excelsior Community College before enrolling at the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...

. Lyew was a flight attendant prior to working for her first husband Christoper Wood's business. Following the end of her ten-year marriage to Wood, Lyew married

Daryl Vaz Daryl Wesley Phillip Vaz is a Jamaican politician who is the Jamaica Labour Party, Labour MP for Portland Western. He was the Minister of Information and Telecommunications in Jamaica from March 2009 to January 2016. His party lost the election ...

in 2003. Together, they have one child and raise four others from Daryl Vaz's previous partnerships. Prior to her political career, Ann-Marie Vaz founded the One Jamaica Foundation to improve Jamaican educational infrastructure, and served as its chair. Ann-Marie Vaz contested the 4 April 2019 by-election for the

constituency as a member of the

Jamaica Labour Party The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) is one of the two major political parties in Jamaica, the other being the People's National Party (PNP). While its name might suggest that it is a social democratic party (as is the case for "Labour" parties in seve ...

, and faced the

People's National Party The People's National Party (PNP) is a Social democracy, social-democratic List of political parties in Jamaica, political party in Jamaica, founded in 1938 by independence campaigner Osmond Theodore Fairclough. It holds 14 of the 63 seats in ...

candidate

Damion Crawford Damion O. Crawford (born c. 1980) is a Jamaican politician. Crawford was born in Haddo, Westmoreland Parish. Crawford attended Kingston College and the University of the West Indies, where he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in tourism mana ...

. A preliminary vote count by the Electoral Office of Jamaica favored Vaz, as did the final result. This was the largest turnout for any election in Portland Eastern. Vaz became the first woman to represent Portland Eastern, as well as the first Jamaica Labour Party politician from the constituency to be seated in parliament. Vaz was sworn into office on 16 April 2019. Vaz's swearing-in ceremony was attended by her grandmother, Eva May Wright, who died five months later, on 15 September 2019, aged 99. Vaz announced in May 2019 that she had established a fund for tertiary student expenses, using the first month of her salary as a sitting parliamentarian.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaz, Ann-Marie 1966 births Living people University of the West Indies alumni Members of the House of Representatives of Jamaica Flight attendants Jamaica Labour Party politicians People from Portland Parish People from Manchester Parish 21st-century Jamaican women politicians 21st-century Jamaican politicians Members of the 13th Parliament of Jamaica Members of the 14th Parliament of Jamaica