Teslyn Siobhan Barkman (born 17 November 1987) is a Falkland Island journalist and politician who has 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

Camp constituency Camp is a constituency of the Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands which has been in existence since 1977. The constituency of Camp consists of all parts of the territory which lie more than 3.5 miles from the spire of Christ Church Cat ...

since the

2017 general election This national electoral calendar for 2017 lists the national/federal elections held in 2017 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 November ...

. Prior to entering politics, she was a journalist for ''

Penguin News ''Penguin News'' is the only newspaper produced in the Falkland Islands. It is published every Friday and provides news and features about the islands. History The paper was founded as a monthly in 1979, and after the Falkland Islands War it ...

''.

Career

While working for ''Penguin News'', she expressed concern about plans for Members of the Legislative Assembly to earn a full-time wage of £40,000, arguing that it was too high and would not attract suitable candidates. In 2013, she was part of a delegation that travelled to the United States to lobby the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

to recognise the results of the

2013 Falkland Islands sovereignty referendum A referendum on political status was held in the Falkland Islands on 10–11 March 2013. The Falkland Islanders were asked whether or not they supported the continuation of their status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom in view of A ...

. Later that year, she stood for election in the

2013 Falkland Islands general election The Falkland Islands general election of 2013 was held on Thursday 7 November 2013 to elect all eight members of the Legislative Assembly (five from the Stanley constituency and three from the Camp constituency) through universal suffrage usin ...

being one of the youngest candidates standing and the only one under 30. However, she failed to win a seat in the

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) ...

constituency, finishing sixth in the poll. In 2014 she started work at the Public Relations and Media Office for Falkland Islands Government. Following this, in 2017, she stood for election to the Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands again, this time standing in the Camp constituency. She won a seat in the Legislative Assembly at the

2017 Falkland Islands general election The Falkland Islands general election of 2017 was held on Thursday 9 November 2017 to elect all eight members of the Legislative Assembly (five from the Stanley constituency and three from the Camp constituency) through universal suffrage using ...

by gathering the second largest number of votes in the Camp constituency and also became the youngest ever woman to be elected to the assembly, at 29.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barkman, Teslyn 1987 births Living people 21st-century British women politicians Falkland Islands journalists Falkland Islands MLAs 2017–2021 Falkland Islands MLAs 2021–2025 Falkland Islands women in politics People from Stanley, Falkland Islands