Gail Teixeira (born July 19, 1952) is a Guyanese politician. Since August 2020, she has held the office of minister of parliamentary affairs and governance in

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

Education and career

Teixeira attended 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 ...

where she studied History and International Relations, receiving her Bachelor Degree in 1974. She later attended

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

and obtained a Master of Arts in

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

. Teixeira started her political career as the People's Progressive Party Secretary in 1976. During that period she was the Women's Progressive Organization's personal secretary to President Cheddi Jagan. Between 1977 and 1992, she was a member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

. After a long tenure as MP, she was appointed senior minister of health for the Guyanese government. Teixeira subsequently served as the Guyana minister of culture, youth and sports. On August 5, 2020 she was appointed minister of parliamentary affairs and governance by President

Irfaan Ali Mohamed Irfaan Ali (born 25 April 1980) is a Guyanese politician who has served as the tenth and current president of Guyana since 2020. He is the first Muslim to hold the office, along with being the second Muslim head of state in the Americas ...

In Media

In a podcast with Global Indian Network, she sheds light on the concept of national identity and the possibilities of overcoming divisions to foster a cohesive society. She further acknowledges the existence of identity politics within Guyana and emphasises their adverse impact on the nation’s progress. The presence of divisions based on ethnicity can obstruct collaboration, hinder economic growth, and perpetuate social inequality.

References

{{National Assembly of Guyana 1952 births Living people Guyanese people of Portuguese descent Members of the National Assembly (Guyana) University of Toronto alumni Women government ministers of Guyana York University alumni