Culture
Aline Hanson: the first woman to lead the Collectivité de Saint-Martin
A profile of Aline Hanson (1949–2017), the teacher and Sandy Ground school principal who in 2013 became the first woman elected president of Saint-Martin's Territorial Council.
By SXM Daily ·
Aline Hanson was a teacher and school principal who became the first woman to lead the Collectivité de Saint-Martin. Elected president of the Territorial Council in April 2013, she headed the French side's government for four years and is remembered as a pioneer for women in the island's public life.
Illustrative: Sandy Ground, Saint-Martin. Photo: LittleT889 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Teacher and principal
Aline Denise Hanson was born in Saint-Martin on 9 October 1949, according to the Collectivité's own history. She worked as a primary school teacher (professeur des écoles) and was principal of Sandy Ground Elementary School from 1991 to 2014, The Daily Herald records. For more than two decades, generations of children in Sandy Ground passed through the school she ran.
Into politics
In the 2012 territorial elections, Hanson stood second on the list led by Alain Richardson, Le Pélican and France-Antilles reported.
President of the Collectivité
On 17 April 2013, according to the Collectivité's history, Hanson was elected president of the Territorial Council, the first woman to hold the post since the Collectivité was created in 2007. She led the council until 2017, and Daniel Gibbs succeeded her on 2 April 2017.
Remembered
Hanson died at home on 29 June 2017 after an illness, less than three months after leaving office. She was 67. Le Pélican's tribute ran under the headline "C'était une femme de conviction" ("She was a woman of conviction"), and RCI, France-Antilles and The Daily Herald all marked her death. Her election in 2013 remains a milestone: the first time a woman sat at the head of Saint-Martin's government.
Sources
- https://www.com-saint-martin.fr/thematiques/organisation-territoriale/votre-collectivite/histoire-de-la-collectivite
- https://rci.fm/guadeloupe/infos/Politique/Aline-Hanson-ancienne-presidente-de-la-collectivite-de-Saint-Martin-est-decedee
- https://www.lepelican-journal.com/c-etait-une-femme-de-conviction/
- https://www.guadeloupe.franceantilles.fr/divers/aline-hanson-est-decedee-431651.php
- https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/aline-hanson-passes-away
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sandy_Ground,_Saint_Martin.jpg
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