Edith Mai Padmore, nee Wiles (August 20, 1916 – July 3, 1988) was a Liberian politician. She became Liberia's first female cabinet minister when she was appointed Minister of Health and Welfare in 1972.

Life

Mai Wiles was born on August 20, 1916, in

Monrovia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As th ...

. She was the daughter of Richard Wiles, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Liberia, and Mai Grimes, sister of

Louis Arthur Grimes Louis Arthur Grimes (1883–1948) served as the 10th Chief Justice of Liberia and is considered one of the most important jurists in the history of Liberia. He was appointed Attorney General by President Charles D. B. King and served in this pos ...

, a

Chief Justice of Liberia The chief justice of Liberia is the head of the judicial branch of the Government of the Republic of Liberia and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of Liberia. Appointment and term Article 54(c) of the Constitution stipulates that the chief ...

. Her father's mother was Vai and her other grandparents were from the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

. She was educated at the Trinity Parish School and the

College of West Africa The College of West Africa is a Methodist high school in Monrovia, Liberia. The school was opened in 1839 (as the "Monrovia Seminary"), making it one of the oldest European-style schools in Africa. It has produced many of Liberia's leaders. Alumn ...

, where she graduated at the top of her class in 1934 or 1935. She taught for a year after graduation. After training at the Eugenia Simpson Cooper Secretarial School, she became personal secretary to President Edwin J. Barclay. In April 1939 she married the future diplomat George A. Padmore. From 1940 to 1950 she was secretary to the general manager of the Firestone Plantation Company. She then became Executive Secretary to President Tubman from 1951 to 1955. In 1956 she accompanied her husband to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, where he had been appointed Ambassador. She helped organize the 1959 Saniquellie Conference and the 1962 Monrovia Conference which led to the

Organisation of African Unity The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; french: Organisation de l'unité africaine, OUA) was an intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 32 signatory governments. One of the main heads for OAU's ...

. From 1963 to 1971 she was Special Assistant to President Tubman. President

William Tolbert William Richard Tolbert Jr. (13 May 1913 – 12 April 1980) was a Liberian politician who served as the 20th president of Liberia from 1971 until 1980. Tolbert was an Americo-Liberian and trained as a civil servant before entering the House of ...

appointed Padmore as Minister of Health and Welfare on January 11, 1972. She was minister until 1973. Padmore was active in the Episcopal Diocese of Liberia. Mai Padmore was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. She died July 3, 1988.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Padmore, Mai 1916 births 1988 deaths Americo-Liberian people 20th-century Liberian politicians Women government ministers of Liberia Health ministers of Liberia Politicians from Monrovia