Emilienne Rochecouste

Marie Louise Emilienne Rochecouste OBE (20 September 1892 – 28 February 1979) was a Mauritian politician. In 1948 she became the first woman elected to the Legislative Council, serving until 1953.

Emilienne Rochecouste
Member of the Legislative Council
In office
1948–1953
ConstituencyPlaines Wilhems–Black River
Personal details
Born20 September 1892
Died28 February 1979(1979-02-28) (aged 86)
Quatre Bornes, Mauritius
Political partyIndependent
OccupationSchool teacher

Biography

Born Marie Louise Emilienne Orian in 1892 into a mixed-race Franco-Mauritian family, Rochecouste worked as a primary school teacher and headmistress.[1][2][3] She married Rapael Rochecouste July in 1916.[1] During World War II their son Jean died while serving in the Royal Air Force.[4]

Rochecouste stood as an independent candidate in the six-seat Plaines Wilhems–Black River constituency in the August 1948 elections.[5] At an executive committee meeting held on 11 July, the Labour Party decided to support her candidacy despite being opposed to the concept of female suffrage.[3] She finished second in the vote, becoming the first woman elected to the Legislative Council. Following the elections, Denise De Chazal was appointed as a second female member.[3] She lost her seat in the 1953 elections, finishing twentieth out of thirty candidates.[6]

Rochecouste was awarded an OBE in the 1958 Birthday Honours. In the 1970s the government school in her hometown of Quatre Bornes was named after her.[7]

References
  1. Chit Geerjanand Dukhira (2002) History of Mauritius: Experiments in Democracy, p100
  2. Susan Franceschet, Mona Lena Krook & Netina Tan (2018) The Palgrave Handbook of Women’s Political Rights p549
  3. Ramola Ramtohul (2009) Engendering Mauritian History: The HiddenControversies over Female Suffrage Afrika Zamani, No. 17, pp63–80
  4. Jean Maxime Herve Rochecouste Commonwealth War Graves Commission
  5. Sydney Selvon (2018) A New Comprehensive History of Mauritius, chapter 40
  6. Results of the General Election for the Mauritius Legislative Council held on 26 August 1953 Electoral Commission
  7. EMILIENNE ROCHECOUSTE GS: 24 élèves s’automutilent avec une lame de taille crayon Le Mauricien, 16 June 2011
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