Louise Antoinette N'Jie, ( Mahoney; 23 January 1922 – 22 May 2014) was a Gambian teacher, feminist and politician who was the first woman to serve as a cabinet minister in The Gambia.

Early life and education

Louise Antoinette Mahoney was born in Bathurst (now Banjul) in British Gambia on 23 January 1922, the third of five children. Her father, Sir John Mahoney, was of Aku descent and was the first

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the

National Assembly of the Gambia The National Assembly of the Gambia is the unicameral legislature of the Gambia. The authorisation for the National Assembly lies in Chapter VII of the Constitution of the Gambia. It is composed of 53 members directly elected through first past ...

and her mother, Hannah, was the first Gambian woman to work as a

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

in the Government Secretariat in the 1910s. Her younger sister Augusta was the first female candidate to stand in a Gambian national election and later married Gambia's first

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

, Sir

Dawda Jawara Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara (16 May 1924 – 27 August 2019) was a Gambian politician who served as Prime Minister from 1962 to 1970, and then as the first President of the Gambia from 1970 to 1994. Jawara was born in Barajally, MacCarthy Island ...

. Her brother John later married

Florence Mahoney Florence Mahoney (née Asi Florence Kezia Omolara Peters; born 6 January 1929)David Perfect"Mahoney, Dr (Asi) Florence Kezia Omolara" ''Historical Dictionary of The Gambia'' (Fifth edition), Rowman & Littlefield, 2016, p. 281. is a Gambian Creol ...

, the first Gambian woman to obtain a PhD. N'Jie attended the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

Girls High School in Banjul, obtaining the Cambridge School Certificate in 1942. She then won a scholarship to attend the Achimota School in Accra,

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

from 1942 until 1945, where she trained as a teacher. From 1963 to 1964, she studied educational administration at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

Career

N'Jie taught in various primary and secondary schools in Gambia for ten years and was principal of Bakau Primary School from 1957 until 1963. In 1953, she was one of five female members of a 34-member consultative committee to

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Sir

Percy Wyn-Harris Sir Percy Wyn-Harris KCMG MBE KStJ (24 August 1903 – 25 February 1979) was an English mountaineer, colonial administrator, and yachtsman. He worked in the Colonial Service in Africa and served as Governor of the Gambia from 1949 to 1958. E ...

constitutional reform A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, ...

. In 1958, she was appointed to the Committee for the Preparation of the Royal Visit and the Reception of

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

to The Gambia in 1961. In 1960, she participated in the United Nations Seminar on Participation of Women in Public Life in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

. In 1970, she was one of the founders of the Federation of Gambian Women. N'Jie was a member of the People's Progressive Party and was elected to parliament in 1977, becoming Gambia's second female MP. She was also the only Christian member of the government at the time. She was appointed a parliamentary secretary in 1979, and in January 1985, became Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture, making her Gambia's first female member of cabinet. She oversaw an increase in the education of girls and a 20 percent increase in the number of female teachers. She served in this role until 1987, when she became Minister of Health, Environment, Labor and Social Welfare. She championed family planning and education to reduce the

maternal mortality rate Maternal death or maternal mortality is defined in slightly different ways by several different health organizations. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines maternal death as the death of a pregnant mother due to complications related to p ...

, and initiated Gambia's response to the AIDS epidemic in 1987 with the establishment of a National AIDS Control Program. She also oversaw the implementation of a cost recovery program in accordance with the Bamako Initiative adopted by African Health Ministers in 1987 to accelerate

primary healthcare Primary health care, or PHC, refers to "essential health care" that is based on scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and technology. This makes universal health care accessible to all individuals and families in a community. PHC in ...

. N'Jie was a member of the PPP's Central Committee and led the formation of a Women's Bureau. In 1989, she led a delegation to

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

to the World Conference on Women. She founded and led the Soroptimist Society and was president of the Gambia Red Cross Society for ten years. In 1991, she was one of the few PPP members to encourage party leader Dawda Jawara to

retire Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

. N'Jie retired from politics in 1992. She died on 2 May 2014 in Bakau.

Personal life

N'Jie married Denis Ebrima N'Jie, the Gambia's first

dental surgeon A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofacial com ...

, in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1950 and they had one son who died in 1997. She was a committed Christian and active in local churches throughout her life.

Awards and honours

N'Jie was made a

Member of the Order of the British Empire 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 ...

in June 1963. In 2015, on the fiftieth anniversary of Gambia's independence from Britain, she was named by '' The Standard'' as one of "50 prominent Gambians who helped to shape the nation."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:N'Jie, Louise 1922 births 2014 deaths People from Banjul Government ministers of the Gambia People's Progressive Party (Gambia) politicians Gambian feminists Members of the House of Representatives of the Gambia Gambian activists Gambian women activists Gambian women's rights activists Alumni of Achimota School Alumni of the University of Oxford Gambian Christians Gambian Creole people Members of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century Gambian women politicians 20th-century Gambian politicians Women government ministers of the Gambia Environment ministers of the Gambia