Margaret Dyer-Howe

Margaret (Annie) Dyer-Howe (18 November 1941 – 6 April 2019) was a Montserratian politician and businesswoman, who was the second woman to be appointed as a government minister in the Legislative Assembly of Montserrat. She held a number of ministries during her two periods as an elected representative, including as Minister for Education and Social Affairs, Minister for Trade, Agriculture, Lands, Housing and the Environment and Minister of Finance. She also co-founded the Montserrat Labour Party.

Margaret Dyer-Howe
Member of Legislative Assembly of Montserrat
MinisterMinister for Education and Social Affairs
ConstituencySouthern
MinisterMinister for Trade, Agriculture, Lands, Housing and the Environment
MinisterMinister of Finance
Personal details
Born
Margaret Corbett

18 November 1941
Died6 April 2019(2019-04-06) (aged 77)
Political partyNew People's Liberation Movement
Montserrat Labour Party
Spouse(s)Michael Dyer, m. 1964

Biography

Margaret Corbett was born 18 November 1941 and grew up in St Patrick's. She attended St. Augustine School in Plymouth, and subsequently attended secretarial college in the USA. In 1964, she married politician Michael Dyer, who died in 1974.[1]

In 1979, she was elected as Southern district member of the Legislative Assembly of Montserrat, representing the New People's Liberation Movement (NPLM),[2] after a by-election in which she was elected to the seat previously held by her husband.[3][1] During this period she campaigned against the legalisation of abortion.[4] She was re-elected in 1983 and was appointed Minister for Education and Social Affairs; she was the second woman to be appointed as a minister in Montserrat (the first woman to be appointed minister having been Mary Rose Tuitt).[3] In 1984, she married Robert Howe.[1]

After she lost her seat in the 1987 general election,[5] she was recruited by Montserrat Water Authority.[4] During the same period, she and her husband established Howe's Enterprises, a business producing mineral water and condiments.[3][1]

In the 2001 Montserratian general election, Dyer-Howe was re-elected to the Legislative Council.[6] She was appointed as Minister for Trade, Agriculture, Lands, Housing and the Environment during 2001, and as Minister of Finance from 2001 to 2002.[7][8][9] In 2005, she left the NPLM and in advance of the 2009 Montserratian general election, Dyer-Howe co-founded the Montserrat Labour Party with Idabelle Meade and Chedmond Browne. However, she was not re-elected.[10]

Dyer-Howe died on 6 April 2019.[1] After her funeral mass on 10 May 2019,[11] her coffin was accompanied by the band of the Montserrat Defense Force, to Lookout Public Cemetery, where she was buried.[1] The day of her funeral was declared a national holiday in her honour.[11]

Awards
  • Montserrat Order of Excellence (2018)[3]
  • Bank of Montserrat - Montserrat Icon (2010)[3]

References
  1. Roach, Bennette (17 May 2019). "Margaret 'Annie' Dyer-Howe gets elegant homegoing celebration". The Montserrat Reporter. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  2. "Montserrat Election 2014 | General Election Results 2006". www.caribbeanelections.com. 31 May 2006. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  3. "Former Government Minister and Business Woman Margaret Annie Dyer-Howe Has Died at 78". Discover Montserrat. 7 April 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  4. Fergus, Howard A. (1996). Gallery Montserrat: Some Prominent People in Our History. Canoe Press. ISBN 978-976-8125-25-5.
  5. Bulletin of Eastern Caribbean Affairs. University of West Indies. 1987. pp. 44–5.
  6. "Montserrat Election 2014 | General Election Results 2001". www.caribbeanelections.com. 2 April 2001. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  7. "Caribbean Elections Biography | Margaret Mary 'Annie' Dyer-Howe". www.caribbeanelections.com. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  8. "Montserrat to chair ECCB Monetary Council | Eastern Caribbean Central Bank". devweb.eccb-centralbank.org. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  9. "REMARKS BY THE HON. MARGARET DYER-HOWE, CHAIRMAN OF THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (COTED), AND MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, LAND, HOUSING AND THE ENVIRONMENT, MONTSERRAT, AT THE OPENING OF THE FOURTEENTH MEETING OF COTED, 31 JANUARY 2003, GEORGETOWN, GUYANA". CARICOM. 31 January 2003. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  10. "Montserrat Election 2014 | General Election Results 2009". www.caribbeanelections.com. 8 September 2009. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  11. "Right Hon. Margaret Annie Dyer-Howe Laid to Rest". Discover Montserrat. 13 May 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
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