Marita Petersen () (née Johansen (); 21 October 1940 – 26 August 2001) was the first and to date only female Prime Minister of the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

and the first female speaker of the

Løgting The Løgting (pronounced ; da, Lagtinget) is the unicameral parliament of the Faroe Islands, an autonomous territory within the Danish Realm. The name literally means "''Law Thing''"—that is, a law assembly—and derives from Old Norse ''l ...

(Parliament). She was elected to the

in 1988 for Javnaðarflokkurin (The Social Democratic Party). In January 1993, she was elected to the post of Prime Minister which she held until September 1994. Later, she became chairman of the

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

from 1994 to 1995. She was Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands in a very difficult time with economic crisis.Ibnlive.in.com Haven on Earth: 6 places secure from financial crisis- 1. Faroe Islands, Denmark
/ref> Marita Petersen died of cancer in 2001.

Career

Early life

Petersen was born in

Vágur Vágur meaning ''Bay'' ( da, Våg) is a town on the island of Suðuroy, part of the Faroe Islands It is situated on the east coast of the island on the Vágsfjørður fjord, and was founded in the fourteenth century. Expansion has meant that the ...

. She was educated at the Hellerup seminarium in Denmark, and trained as a teacher in 1964. She worked as a teacher in Copenhagen and Esbjerg from 1964 to 1967, in Tórshavnar kommunuskúli (one of the public schools in Tórshavn) from 1967 to 1989. From 1989 to 1994 she was leader of the teaching department of ''Landsskúlafyrisitingin'' 1989–94, leader of the ''Sernámsfrøðiliga ráðgevingin'' 1994-98 and from 1998 until her death she was manager for the Sernámsdepilin, which is a school for children with mentally disabilities.

Political career

*1994-1995 Speaker of the Løgting *1993-1994 Prime Minister (løgmaður) (the first and until now the only female Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands) *1994-1996 Leader of Javnaðarflokkurin (the Socialist Party) *1991-1993 Minister of Cultural Affairs *1988-1998 Member of the Faroese Løgting, except for the periods when she was prime minister or minister

References

Prime Ministers of the Faroe Islands Members of the Løgting Female heads of government 1940 births 2001 deaths Social Democratic Party (Faroe Islands) politicians Speakers of the Løgting Ministers of Culture of the Faroe Islands People from Vágur 20th-century women politicians Women government ministers of the Faroe Islands Deaths from cancer in the Faroe Islands Faroese schoolteachers Women legislative speakers {{Faroes-politician-stub