Emma Jane Edwards (born 26 September 1971) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

born,

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

teacher and politician, who served as a

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the Legislative Assembly for the

Stanley constituency Stanley is a constituency of the Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands which has been in existence since the first elections in the Falklands in 1949. The constituency of Stanley consists of the area that lies within 3.5 miles of the spi ...

from her election in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

until she resigned in 2011. She is the eldest daughter of another MLA, Roger Edwards. Edwards was born in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to Norma (a

Falkland Islander Falkland may refer to: * Falkland, British Columbia, a community in Canada * Falkland, Nova Scotia, a community in Canada * Falkland Islands, an archipelago in the south Atlantic Ocean * Falkland, Fife, a former burgh in Fife, Scotland ** Falklan ...

) and Roger Edwards. She first went to the Falklands at the age of two when her father was stationed aboard HMS ''Endurance''. Edwards was educated in

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

, but in 1988 she moved to

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

to undertake

A-Levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

and in 1995 she graduated from

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

with a degree in

Geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

. After working for some years as a junior geologist for the

Falkland Islands Government The politics of the Falkland Islands takes place in a framework of a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary representative democratic dependency as set out by the constitution, whereby the Governor exercises the duties of head of state in th ...

, Edwards went to

Aberdeen University , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

in 1998 where she gained a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

Petroleum Geology Petroleum geology is the study of origin, occurrence, movement, accumulation, and exploration of hydrocarbon fuels. It refers to the specific set of geological disciplines that are applied to the search for hydrocarbons (oil exploration). Sedime ...

. She then worked for the

Falkland Islands Development Corporation The Falkland Islands Development Corporation (FIDC) is a quasi-autonomous, government-established, largely self-funding body responsible for encouraging the economic development of the Falkland Islands. It was set up in 1984 and is mainly funded f ...

and Cable & Wireless before returning to the UK in 2004 where she went to the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a public university , public research university in Exeter, Devon, England, United Kingdom. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of Min ...

to retrain as a school teacher. In November 2009 she was elected to the Legislative Assembly for Stanley, and in June 2010 she represented the Falklands at the annual meeting of the UN Special Committee on Decolonisation in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Edwards is a reserve

Police Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

in the

Royal Falkland Islands Police The Royal Falkland Islands Police (RFIP) is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the Falkland Islands. The current Chief Police Officer is Superintendent Michael Luke. The Falkland Islands Police Force was granted t ...

and her portfolios as an MLA included Tourism, Minerals, Housing and Environment and Heritage. She announced her resignation from the Legislative Assembly in 2011, following her decision to marry Mark Brook. Her seat was filled in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

on 15 December 2011, won by

Barry Elsby Barry Elsby is a British people, British born, Falkland Islander, Falkland Islands doctor and politician, who has served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly, Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands, Legislative Assembly for ...

References

1971 births Living people Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Alumni of the University of Exeter Falkland Islands MLAs 2009–2013 Falkland Islands schoolteachers Politicians from Portsmouth English emigrants to the Falkland Islands Falkland Islands women in politics 21st-century British women politicians {{Falklands-stub