Belinda Bidwell (22 April 1936 – 28 April 2007) was the first female

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 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 rep ...

The Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

. In 2002, Bidwell, who was previously a teacher, was nominated to serve in the National Assembly, and she became deputy speaker. In April 2006, following an attempted coup d'etat in March, Speaker

Sheriff Mustapha Dibba Sheriff Mustapha Dibba (10 January 1937 – 2 June 2008) was a veteran Gambian politician who was the 1st Vice-President of the Gambia (1970–1972) and also served as the country's National Assembly speaker from 2002 to 2006. He was also lea ...

was arrested and removed from his position for alleged involvement, and Bidwell became speaker. Bidwell died of a heart attack in April 2007. She was survived by her husband James Ndow, three sons and two daughters.

Early life

Bidwell was the second daughter of Gabriel and Julian Faal Faal Matilde, born on 22 April 1936. Her sister and father were politically active in

Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction The Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) is a political party in The Gambia. Founded by army officers who staged a coup in 1994, it was the dominant ruling party from 1996 until 2016 with president Yahya Jammeh. History ...

party. She had her primary education at Saint Joseph Convent, collegiate education at Gambia College and graduation at the University of Oxford in the UK. After completing education, she served as a teacher at St. Joseph Convent, St. Augustine Junior Secondary School and Gambia College. She had various degrees in Mathematics and environment protection from University of Chicago, US, University of Reading in the UK and at other universities in Australia, the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. She was married to James Ndow and the pair had three sons and two daughters.

Political life

Bidwell was nominated to serve in the National Assembly in 2002 by

, and she went on to become the deputy speaker. In April 2006, following an attempted coup d'etat in March, Speaker

was arrested and removed from his position for alleged involvement, and Bidwell became speaker. Fatoumatta Jahumpa Ceesay replaced Bidwell as speaker in February 2007,Alhagie Jobe,
Gambia: 53 NAMs Sworn-in
, ''The Daily Observer'' (allafrica.com), February 9, 2007. Bidwell died of a heart attack in April 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bidwell, Belinda Speakers of the National Assembly of the Gambia 1936 births 2007 deaths Gambian Creole people Gambian Christians 21st-century Gambian women politicians 21st-century Gambian politicians Women legislative speakers 20th-century African-American people