Eileen Parsons

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

who served as a member of the House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands, including as Minister for of Health, Education and Welfare, Deputy Premier and Deputy Speaker during the course of her political career.

Early life and Career

Eileen Parsons was born to Virginia Parrott Fahie and James Elmore Stevens on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. She attended school on the island, and in Saint Thomas, Barbados, before travelling to Puerto Rico where she went to the Escuela Vocational School to study dressmaking. At the

State University of New York at Oswego State University of New York at Oswego (SUNY Oswego or Oswego State) is a public college in the City of Oswego and Town of Oswego, New York. It has two campuses: historic lakeside campus in Oswego and Metro Center in Syracuse, New York. SUN ...

, she studied industrial arts. Parsons also trained at the Leeward Islands Teachers College and took an

associate degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

at the University of the Virgin Islands. At the Florida International University, she studied for a bachelor's degree in tourism promotion. She worked as a teacher in the British Virgin Islands between 1959–65, then for the next thirty years as the secretary to the Commissioner of Education for the Islands, along with the Dean of the University of the Virgin Islands, and the Tourist Board. She sought to move politics, standing for election to the House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands in 1983, 1986 and 1990. In 1995 she successfully stood as an independent candidate, being elected for the first time. This made her the second woman to enter the House of Assembly. When she became Minister of Health, Education and Welfare in 1997, this was the first time that a woman had been appointed to a ministerial post in the British Virgin Islands. This was followed by an appointment as Deputy Premier two years later. Those posts were revoked in 2000, and she later was named as Deputy Speaker for the House of Assembly. Parsons was named an

in Queen Elizabeth II's

2013 Birthday Honours The 2013 Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of ...

list for "services to education and the community". By 2014, she was considered a cultural icon on the island. That year she chaired a committee to recognise those who had contributed to the BVI. Her views continued to be sought after she had retired from politics, with her expressing a lack of interest in the prospect of the British Virgin Islands' potential independence from the United Kingdom.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parsons, Eileen Living people People from Tortola British Virgin Islands women in politics Government ministers of the British Virgin Islands Members of the House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands University of the Virgin Islands alumni Florida International University alumni National Democratic Party (British Virgin Islands) politicians State University of New York at Oswego alumni Members of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century British women politicians 21st-century British women politicians Year of birth missing (living people) Women government ministers of the British Virgin Islands