Jeanne Sauvé

Born in Prud'homme, Saskatchewan, Jeanne-Mathilde Benoît studied at Notre Dame du Rosaire Convent in Ottawa and at the University of Ottawa. In 1948, she married Maurice Sauvé and later became a journalist and broadcaster with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. She was elected Liberal MP from Montreal in 1972, becoming the first woman cabinet member from Quebec. She also opened the first daycare on Parliament Hill.

In 1980 she became the first woman Speaker of the House of Commons and on May 14, 1984 she became Governor-General of Canada, the first woman ever to hold that post. She died of cancer on January 26, 1993.

External links

• Biography from Governor-General's web site (http://www.gg.ca/governor_general/history/bios/sauve_e.asp)