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

speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

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 repr ...

The Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

. 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 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 leader of ...

was arrested and removed from his position for alleged involvement, and Bidwell became speaker. Bidwell died of a heart attack in April 2007.

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 the 1994 coup, it was the dominant party of the Gambia from 1996 to 2016 under president Yahya Jammeh. His ...

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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. 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 politicians