Jeannette Schmidt Degener (1926 – 19 February 2017) was a

Nigerien This article is about the demographic features of the population of Niger, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. The largest ...

businesswoman, feminist and politician. A member of the

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

organization Union des Femmes du Niger, she became active in politics in the 1960s. From 1996 to 1999, she was the only woman to serve as 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 ...

and was elected as the fourth vice president of its Bureau. She was successful in campaigning for the legal age for marriage for girls to be raised from 12 to 16.

Early life

The daughter of a

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern A ...

mother and a French father, her maternal grandfather was

Ag Mohammed Wau Teguidda Kaocen Kaocen Ag Geda (1880–1919) (also known as Kaocen, Kaosen, Kawsen) was a Tuareg noble and clan leader. Born in 1880 near wadi Tamazlaght Aïr (modern Niger), Kaocen from tribe of Ikazkazan berber, a subset of the Kel Owey confederation. He ...

who led a revolt in 1916 against French colonial rule.

Career

Initially Schmidt Degener worked in the import-export business and ran a number of hotels and restautants. In 1960, she became a member of the

Nigerien Progressive Party – African Democratic Rally The Nigerien Progressive Party – African Democratic Rally (, PPN-RDA) is a political party in Niger. It was the leading political party of the pre-independence era, becoming the sole legal party of the First Republic (1960–1974). It was led ...

(PPN-RDA) and was active in the women's rights association Union des Femmes du Niger. In the early 1990s, she joined the

Democratic and Social Convention The Democratic and Social Convention - Rahama (french: Convention démocratique et sociale-Rahama, CDS-Rahama) is a political party in Niger. History It was founded in January 1991. In the February 1993 parliamentary elections the party won 22 ...

(CDS-Rahama) supported by President

Mahamane Ousmane Mahamane Ousmane (born 20 January 1950), press release no. 179, is a Nigerien politician. He was the first democratically elected and fourth President of Niger, serving from 16 April 1993, U.S. Department of State. until he was deposed in a mili ...

. When he was overthrown by

Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara General Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara (May 9, 1949 – April 9, 1999) was a military officer and diplomat in Niger who ruled the country from his seizure of power in 1996 until his assassination during the military coup of April 1999. Baré Maïn ...

, she joined his support committee and, on its establishment, joined his

National Union of Independents for Democratic Renewal The National Union of Independents for Democratic Renewal (french: Union Nationale des Indépendants pour le Renouveau Démocratique, UNIRD) was a political party in Niger. History The party was established following the January 1996 coup in ord ...

(UNIRD), soon replaced by Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP-Jama). In the

1996 Nigerien parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Niger on 23 November 1996. They followed the constitutional changes approved in a referendum earlier in the year, which re-introduced multi-party democracy suspended by an earlier military coup. However, the ei ...

, representing Commune I of the capital

Niamey Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. Niamey lies on the Niger River, primarily situated on the east bank. Niamey's population was counted as 1,026,848 as of the 2012 census. As of 2017, population projections show the capital di ...

, Schmidt Degener was elected to the National Assembly where she held her seat until 1999. The only woman deputy during the Fourth Nigerien Republic, she was elected Fourth Vice President of the National Assembly's bureau. She successfully campaigned to increase the minimum age at which Nigerien girls could marry from 12 to 16 years. Jeannette Schmidt Degener died on 19 February 2017 in

Montauban Montauban (, ; oc, Montalban ) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department, region of Occitania, Southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, an ...

, France. She had been married to the honorary Dutch consul to Niger and had five children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmitt Degener, Jeannette 1926 births 2017 deaths 20th-century Nigerien politicians 21st-century Nigerien politicians Nigerien women in politics Nigerien women activists Nigerien activists Members of the National Assembly (Niger) Women members of the National Assembly (Niger) 20th-century businesswomen 20th-century women politicians 21st-century women politicians