Janet Lynda Cheek (née Biggs; born February 1948) is a

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

politician who 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

Stanley constituency Stanley is a constituency of the Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands, Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands which has been in existence since the first elections in the Falklands in 1949 Falkland Islands general election, 1949. T ...

from

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

. Cheek won re-election in 2013 but stepped down from the assembly at the 2017 election. She was previously a

of the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

from

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Biography

Jan Cheek was born in

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) ...

, the oldest child of Basil Biggs and Betty Rowlands. She spent much of her childhood in

South Georgia South Georgia is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. ...

after her father was appointed policeman and handyman for the island. For her

A-Levels The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

she was awarded a government scholarship to a study at a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

. Cheek worked as a Secondary School English teacher from 1969 until 1989. She then moved to Fortuna Ltd. where she rose to become co-owner and director until her retirement in 2008. Cheek married fellow islander John Cheek (1939–1996) in 1968, with whom she had two children, Miranda and Rosalind. She then became a grandmother to Hamish (2004), Flora(2005) and Tom(2011). Following John's death in 1996, Cheek became a Trustee of the John Cheek Trust. She was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2019 Birthday Honours The 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as ...

for services to the Falkland Islands.

References

1948 births Living people Falkland Islands businesspeople Falkland Islands Councillors 1997–2001 Falkland Islands Councillors 2001–2005 Falkland Islands MLAs 2009–2013 Falkland Islands MLAs 2013–2017 Falkland Islands schoolteachers Falkland Islands women in politics 21st-century British women politicians 20th-century British women politicians People from Stanley, Falkland Islands Members of the Order of the British Empire {{Falklands-stub