Widow's succession
Widow's succession was a political practice prominent in some countries in the early part of the 20th century, by which a politician who died in office was directly succeeded by his widow, either through election or direct appointment to the seat.[1] Many of the earliest women to hold political office in the modern era attained their positions through this practice. It also occurred when politicians stood down from a particular office without necessarily passing away.
Overview
In earlier years, women who held office through widow's succession rarely became prominent as politicians in their own right, but were regarded merely as placeholders whose primary role was to retain a seat and a vote for the party rather than risk a protracted fight for the nomination between elections.[1] The practice was also sometimes seen as a way to provide the woman with financial support due to the loss of her family's primary income.[2]
The expectation was that a widow would serve only until the next election, at which time she would step down and allow her party to select a new candidate. Upon the retirement of Effiegene Locke Wingo from the United States House of Representatives in 1932, the New York Sun wrote,
Some of the women who have inherited a seat in Congress have demonstrated their individual ability, but of most of them it can be said that they submitted with dignity and good taste to a false code of chivalry, served unostentatiously and departed the Capitol quietly, wondering what the men who invented the term-by-inheritance thought they were doing.[3]
In one unusual Canadian instance, Martha Black succeeded her husband George Black in the House of Commons of Canada when he had not died, but merely stepped down temporarily for health reasons; in the next election, Martha stood down and George returned to office. Another unusual circumstance occurred in the United States when Katherine G. Langley was elected to her still-living husband John W. Langley's former congressional seat after he was convicted of selling alcohol during Prohibition.
With the evolving role of women in politics, however, a number of women who first took office under widow's succession went on to build long and distinguished careers in their own right. Margaret Chase Smith became the longest-serving woman in the history of the United States Senate and the first woman ever to have her name placed in nomination for the Presidency of the United States at a major party's convention,[1] Edith Nourse Rogers became the longest-serving woman in the history of the United States House of Representatives, and Mary Ellen Smith earned the distinction of becoming the first woman ever appointed to a cabinet position, as well as the first woman ever to become speaker of a legislature, in both Canada and the entire British Empire.
In Sri Lanka Sirimavo Bandaranaike, who succeeded her assassinated husband, was a long-serving Prime Minister and party leader.
While widows are occasionally still appointed or elected to political positions following their husbands' deaths, the practice is not as common in the modern era, in which women have been able to take on increasingly prominent roles in politics based on their own talents and experience rather than as "placeholders". Additionally, some figures, such as Sonia Gandhi in India and Grace MacInnis in Canada, have happened to hold political office and to be the widow of an earlier officeholder, but are not true "widow's successions" as they were not their late husband's immediate successor.
Notable widow's successions
Argentina
- María Estela Martínez de Perón, first female president of Argentina
Australia
- Millie Peacock, first woman elected to the Parliament of Victoria; she said when she retired: "Parliament is no place for a woman."
Canada
Japan
New Zealand
- Mary Grigg first woman MP of the National Party
- Elizabeth McCombs first woman MP, succeeded by their son
- Iriaka Rātana first woman Māori MP
United Kingdom
- Agnes Hardie for Glasgow Springburn in Scotland
- Irene Adams for Paisley North in Scotland
- Lena Jeger for Holborn and St Pancras South in London
- Beatrice Wright for Bodmin in Cornwall
- Gill Furniss for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough in Yorkshire
MPs who stood down from office
Nancy Astor became the first ever British female Member of Parliament to take her seat after her husband Waldorf was appointed to the House of Lords. Astor was the MP for Plymouth Sutton in Devon
At the 2019 general election, two Conservative MPs stood down amidst controversy and were succeeded by their wives.
- Natalie Elphicke, wife of Charlie Elphicke in Dover in Kent
- Kate Griffiths, wife of Andrew Griffiths in Burton in Staffordshire
United States
The following is a list of the women in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives who have succeeded their spouses in Congress.[4]
- Maryon Pittman Allen (Senate)
- Elizabeth Andrews (House)
- Jean Spencer Ashbrook (House)
- Irene Baker (House)
- Lindy Boggs (House)
- Veronica Boland (House)
- Frances Bolton (House)
- Mary Bono (House)
- Vera Buchanan (House)
- Jocelyn Burdick (Senate)
- Sala Burton (House)
- Vera Bushfield (Senate)
- Beverly Byron (House)
- Katharine Byron (House)
- Lois Capps (House)
- Hattie Caraway (Senate)
- Jean Carnahan (Senate)
- Marguerite Church (House)
- Marian Clarke (House)
- Cardiss Collins (House)
- Jo Ann Emerson (House)
- Willa McCord Blake Eslick (House)
- Elizabeth Farrington (House)
- Willa Fulmer (House)
- Elizabeth Hawley Gasque (House)
- Kathryn Granahan (House
- Florence Reville Gibbs (House)
- Muriel Humphrey (Senate)
- Florence Prag Kahn (House)
- Elizabeth Kee (House)
- Catherine Small Long (House)
- Rose McConnell Long (Senate)
- Doris Matsui (House)
- Clara McMillan (House)
- Maurine Neuberger (Senate)
- Mae Nolan (House)
- Catherine Dorris Norrell (House)
- Pearl Peden Oldfield (House)
- Shirley Neil Pettis (House)
- Louise Goff Reece (House)
- Corinne Boyd Riley (House)
- Edith Nourse Rogers (House)
- Edna Simpson (House)
- Margaret Chase Smith (House and Senate)
- Leonor Sullivan (House)
- Lera Millard Thomas (House)
- Effiegene Locke Wingo (House)
Nellie Tayloe Ross, who was the first female governor of a U.S. state, succeeded her husband as Governor of Wyoming.
Andrea Seastrand succeeded her husband Eric Seastrand as the member of the California State Assembly for the 29th district.
Florence Shoemaker Thompson, who was the first female sheriff to carry out an execution.
References
- Melville Currell, Political Woman.
- Sarah Ramsland profile at the Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan.
- "I'm No Lady; I'm a Member of Congress".
- "Women Who Succeeded their Husbands in Congress" (PDF). Center for American Women and Politics. 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 10, 2013. Retrieved 2015-10-13.