Until 1925 a woman could not vote in Newfoundland and Labrador???

[Loralee Reach 245]

Kathy Dunderdale made political history Friday when she became the first woman to be sworn in as premier of Newfoundland and Labrador.

 

"We have come this far together and the best is yet to come," Dunderdale told a full room of supporters at Government House in St. John's, minutes after she was sworn in to succeed Danny Williams, who announced his plans to retire last week.

 

Dunderdale said she will carry out the policy goals of Williams and the Progressive Conservatives until a leadership convention is held next spring.

 

She later told reporters, though, that she will not be running in the PC leadership campaign to select a permanent replacement.

 

"Never have we been more determined to succeed and never have we been more confident that we can," said Dunderdale, who had been deputy premier and natural resources minister in Williams's government.

 

Supporters and Williams himself cheered as Dunderdale swore an oath before Lt.-Gov. John Crosbie at Government House in St. John's.

 

Newfoundland and Labrador's three main political parties are now all led by women. Yvonne Jones leads the Liberals, while Lorraine Michael leads the NDP.

 

That fact was not lost on Dunderdale, who was first elected to the house of assembly in 2003, representing the St. John's district of Virginia Waters.

 

"As I see my grandchildren smiling at [me] here today, I am reminded of how different life was for my own grandmother," Dunderdale said.

 

"Until 1925, a woman could not even vote in Newfoundland and Labrador and today for the very first time in our province's history a woman serves as premier," she said. "Imagine that."

[Guest W***ledi*Time]

In Canada, women gained the vote at the federal level in 1918. Women were not allowed to vote in Quebec provincial elections until 1940.

[Loralee Reach 245]

Thanks Wrinkled....

I am learning lots of things thanks to your threads.....

loraLee

[Guest W***ledi*Time]

Apparently New Zealand in 1893 was the first country in the world to grant women the right to vote in national parliamentary elections.

 

Some other countries of western interest:

 

Australia 1902

Denmark 1915

Germany 1918 (Weimar Republic)

Netherlands 1919

Sweden 1919

USA 1920 (passage of 19th amendment)

UK 1928 (Representation of the People Act; 1918 for those who met certain qualifications)

Spain 1931 (Second Republic)

France 1944 (French Provisional Government)

Greece 1952

Switzerland 1971 (The last western republic to grant women the right to vote)

 

There are a number of over-simplifications in just listing simple dates, of course, since there was some sort of an evolution of laws and restrictions in most countries. Above dates are all according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_suffrage.