Dame Elmira Minita Gordon (30 December 1930 – 1 January 2021) was a
Belizean educator, psychologist and politician; she served as the first
governor general of Belize from its independence in 1981 until 1993. She was the first Belizean to receive a doctorate in psychology. She is one of the few "double dames", having received damehoods in two separate orders: the
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III.
...
and the
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...
.
She is the first woman to serve as governor-general in the history of the Commonwealth.
Biography
Elmira Minita Gordon was born 30 December 1930 in Belize City,
British Honduras
British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973, . Her parents, Frederick Gordon and May Dakers,
had immigrated from
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
to
Lucky Strike, Belize
Lucky Strike is a settlement located in the nation of Belize. It is a mainland village located at mile 30½ in Belize District on the Old Northern Highway, just three miles from the Maya Site of Altun Ha
Altun Ha is the name given to the ruins of ...
in the 1920s.
Gordon had five siblings: Lincoln Coyi, Dorinda Henderson, Kelorah Franklin, Rolston Coyi, and Robert Reyes.
She grew up in
Belize City
Belize City is the largest city in Belize and was once the capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2010 census, Belize City has a population of 57,169 people in 16,162 households. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, wh ...
, attending St. John's Girls' School and St. Mary's Primary. Gordon was a member of the
Girl Guides
Girl Guides (known as Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) is a worldwide movement, originally and largely still designed for girls and women only. The movement began in 1909 when girls requested to join the then-grassroot ...
from 1946.
Years later, in 1970 Gordon became the District Commissioner of the Girl Guides for the Belize district.
Gordon continued her education at St. George's Teachers' College. She also took a correspondence course from the
College of Preceptors
The Chartered College of Teaching is a learned society for the teaching profession in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1846, the college was incorporated by Queen Victoria into a royal charter as the College of Preceptors in 1849. A supplemental cha ...
, Oxford, England.
After graduation, she began teaching at an Anglican school. She also served as a missionary throughout Belize between 1946 and 1958. From 1959 to 1969, she was a lecturer at the Belize Teachers' Training College.
From 1969 to 1981, she served as a Government Education Officer.
Gordon graduated from the
University of Calgary
The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...
in
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, Canada with a
B.Ed.
A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) is an undergraduate professional degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. In some countries such as Tanzania and Kenya, additional tasks like field work and research are required in order for ...
(1967) and an
M.Ed.
The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum a ...
(1969) specialising in educational psychology. She completed postgraduate studies at the
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...
and
University of Birmingham
, mottoeng = Through efforts to heights
, established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...
in England.
[ Between 1977 and 1980, when Gordon was in Canada, she served on the Educational Psychology Programme Planning Committee and was a member of the Toronto Leather Craft Club.] She graduated with a PhD PHD or PhD may refer to:
* Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification
Entertainment
* '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series
* ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic
* Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group
** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...
in applied psychology from the University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
in 1980, becoming the first trained Belizean psychologist.
She returned to Belize after graduating. In 1981 Gordon was appointed as Governor General of Belize. She succeeded James P. I. Hennessy, the last Governor of Belize
Belize Advertiser, 1839/41 This is a list of viceroys in British Honduras and Belize from the start of British settlement in the area until the colony's independence in 1981. Until 1862, the territory was under the vice-regency of the Governor of ...
. She became the first Governor-General of Belize upon Belize gaining independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
that year.
Gordon became a justice of the peace
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
in 1974[ and a senior Justice of the Peace in 1987. Gordon received a lifetime membership of the ]British Red Cross
The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more ...
in 1975,[ and in the Belizean Red Cross in 1981.] In addition to her public works, Gordon was a master leather crafts artisan, having won numerous prizes for her works.
Gordon stepped down as Governor-General in 1993, and was succeeded by Colville Young
Sir Colville Norbert Young (born 20 November 1932) is a Belizeans, Belizean politician who served as the 2nd Governor-General of Belize. He is also a patron of the Scouting, Scout Association of Belize. He was appointed as the Governor-General ...
. In later years, poor health prompted her to move to the United States in 2016 to live with her sister, Kelorah Franklin. She died on 1 January 2021, in Inglewood, Los Angeles County, California, two days after her 90th birthday.
Honours
* Honorary LL.D.
Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...
, University of Victoria
The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...
(1984)
*
Dame Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III.
It is named in honou ...
(1984)
*
Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...
(1985)
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Elmira Minita
1930 births
Dames Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
Dames Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order
Double dames
Governors-General of Belize
2021 deaths
Scouting and Guiding in Belize
Justices of the peace
University of Toronto alumni
University of Calgary alumni
20th-century Belizean women politicians
20th-century Belizean politicians