Martha Bielish

Martha Palamarek Bielish (October 20, 1915 – May 18, 2010) was a politician, farmer, feminist, and teacher from Alberta, Canada. She served in the Senate of Canada as a member of the Progressive Conservative caucus from 1979 to 1990.

Martha P. Bielish
Senator from Alberta
In office
September 27, 1979 – September 26, 1990
Personal details
Born
Martha Palmarek

(1915-10-20)October 20, 1915
Smoky Lake, Alberta, Canada
DiedMay 18, 2010(2010-05-18) (aged 94)
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Political partyProgressive Conservative
SpouseJoseph Bielish (m. 1936)[1]
Childrenone son
Alma materUniversity of Alberta
Occupationteacher, farmer

Early life

Bielish was born in 1915 in Smoky Lake, Alberta. She served in politics on the municipal level as an elected School Trustee.

Bielish ran for a seat to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in the 1959 Alberta general election as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the electoral district of Redwater. She finished a distant third place in the three-way race behind Social Credit candidate John Dubetz and incumbent MLA Alfred Macyk.[2]

In 1965 she became president of the Alberta's Women's Institute.[3]

Senate career

Bielish was appointed to the Senate of Canada on the advice of Joe Clark on September 27, 1979 and served until mandatory retirement on September 26, 1990. She was the first Ukrainian-Canadian woman to sit in the Senate.

References
  1. "Guide Parlementaire Canadien". 1990.
  2. "Redwater results 1959". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
  3. Sanderson, Kay (1999). 200 Remarkable Alberta Women. Calgary: Famous Five Foundation. p. 88.
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