Patricia Deveaux
{{Short description|Bahamian politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Patricia Deveaux
| honorific-suffix =
| image = Patricia Deveaux.png
| caption = Official portrait, 2022
| office = 55th Speaker of the House of Assembly
of the Bahamas
| primeminister = Philip Davis
| deputy = Sylvannus Petty
| predecessor = Halson Moultrie
| office1 = Member of Parliament
for Bamboo Town
| term_start1 = 23 September 2021
| term_end1 =
| predecessor1 = Renward Wells
| successor1 =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = 1968
| birth_place =
| alma_mater =
| party = Progressive Liberal Party
| spouse =
| children = 1
| website =
}}
Patricia Ann Deveaux (born 1968{{cite web |title=Bahamas |url=https://data.ipu.org/content/bahamas?chamber_id=13330 |website=Parline: the IPU’s Open Data Platform |language=en |date=5 July 2018}}) is a Bahamian Progressive Liberal Party politician serving as Speaker of the House of Assembly and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bamboo Town. She is the second woman to hold the position of Speaker after Italia Johnson.{{Cite web|date=2021-10-13|title=Woman Named Speaker of The Bahamas House of Assembly|url=https://www.washingtoninformer.com/woman-named-speaker-of-the-bahamas-house-of-assembly/|access-date=2021-10-20|website=The Washington Informer|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=2021-10-08|title=WONDERFUL START FOR WOMEN: Former PM celebrates platform created for women in public service as leaders|url=https://ewnews.com/wonderful-start-for-women-former-pm-celebrates-platform-created-for-women-in-public-service-as-leaders|access-date=2021-10-20|website=Eye Witness News|language=en-US}}
Career
Deveaux served as a Senior Executive Secretary in the Ministry of National Security for 30 years. She also served as National Vice-Chairman of the Progressive Liberal Party, PLP Chairman of the Kennedy constituency and PLP Chairman of Bamboo Town constituency.{{Cite web |date=2021-05-12 |title=Patricia Deveaux {{!}} Bamboo Town |url=https://plpbahamas.org/patriciadeveaux/ |access-date=2022-06-17 |website=The Progressive Liberal Party |language=en}}
= Parliament =
Patricia Deveaux was elected to parliament in 2021 from the Bamboo Town constituency defeating incumbent Free National Movement incumbent Renward Wells. She, along with 6 others, make up the largest number of women to ever be seated as members of parliament in the Bahamas. Deveaux was elected the second woman Speaker of the House of Assembly.{{Cite web |title=Patricia Deveaux likely for Speaker role {{!}} The Bahamas, Bahamas {{!}} Bahamas Local News - The Bahamas, Bahamas |url=https://www.bahamaslocal.com/newsitem/270820/Patricia_Deveaux_likely_for_Speaker_role.html |access-date=2022-06-17 |website=www.bahamaslocal.com}}{{Cite web |date=2021-09-18 |title=MAKING HISTORY: Seven women candidates secure House of Assembly seats in Davis administration |url=https://ewnews.com/making-history-seven-women-candidates-secure-house-of-assembly-seats-in-davis-administration |access-date=2022-06-17 |website=Eye Witness News |language=en-US}}
In 2024 Shanendon Cartwright, the deputy leader of the opposition, seized the Parliamentary Mace and threw it out of the window. This was a repeat of a similar protest made in the Bahamas in 1965. Seizing the Mace as a protest is a known form of Parliamentary protests in many Commonwealth countries.
Deveaux said afterwards that this protest caused her to be "in fear for her life" and, in the immediate aftermath, she allowed armed officers (with firearms) to enter the chamber to restore order, even shouting "get him". This is a severe taboo within Commonwealth jurisdictions, since 1642 when King Charles entered the house of commons accompanied by soldiers, looking to arrest five MPs accused of treason).
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://plpbahamas.org/patriciadeveaux/ PLP Profile]
{{Current Members of the Bahamas House of Assembly}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deveaux, Patricia}}
Category:21st-century Bahamian women politicians
Category:21st-century Bahamian politicians
Category:Women legislative speakers