Ethlyn Smith was a civil servant from the British Virgin Islands, who became one of the first two women elected to the House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands.
13 Facts About Ethlyn Smith
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Ethlyn Smith contested her first election in 1995 as an independent, winning the 5th District.
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Ethlyn Smith was reelected to the post in 1999, serving until her defeat in the 2003 elections.
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Ethlyn Eugenie Smith was born on 23 April 1940 in the village of Huntums Ghut, on the island of Tortola, at the time a British colony known as the British Leeward Islands to Gladys and Ernest Smith.
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Ethlyn Smith completed her primary and secondary education in the islands and worked briefly as a clerical trainee in the civil service of the island.
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Ethlyn Smith completed her degree program in accounting in 1968 and went on for further studies at Wandsworth Technical College in London and at the University of Calgary.
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Ethlyn Smith graduated from Calgary in 1970 with a bachelor's degree in accounting.
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Ethlyn Smith was promoted to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communications and Works 1976.
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Ethlyn Smith was one of two winners in the election, unseating Cyril Romney who had held the 5th District constituency for over a decade.
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Eileene L Parsons and Ethlyn Smith became the first two women elected to serve in the legislative council of the BVI.
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Ethlyn Smith was the only member from her party to be elected and served as a member of the opposition, until 2000, when she was appointed to serve as Minister for Health and Welfare.
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Ethlyn Smith contested the 2003 general elections for the 5th District as candidate for the Virgin Islands Party, but was defeated by Delores Christopher with a margin of three votes.
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Ethlyn Smith died on 31 December 2007 at Peebles Hospital in Road Town on Tortola.