Born: 28 July 1933, Saint Lucia
Died: 31 August 2012
Country most active: Saint Lucia
Also known as: Ives Heraldine Gajadhar, Ma Rock
Educator and politician Ives Heraldine “Ma” Rock was the first woman elected to Parliament and serve as a Minister of Cabinet in Saint Lucia.
In 1964, Rock left her job as a public relations officer for the St. Lucia Banana Growers Association to enter politics, and was elected first vice-president of the United Workers Party. Although she lost her bid for Parliament representing South Castries in 1964, she did win a seat on the Castries Town Board later that year and went on to win the Castries South East seat in Parliament in 1974. That same year, she became the country’s first woman to serve as a government minister when she was appointed Minister of Housing, Community Development, Local Government and Social Affairs, serving in that role until 1980.
When the United Workers Party won the 1982 elections, she was chosen to serve as a senator until 1987, going on to serve on various boards for public and private entities, including St. Lucia Electricity Services and the Development Control Authority.