Sylvia Flores

Sylvia Sarita Flores (c. 1951 – 8 December 2022) was a Belizean politician and educator. She was the first woman to be speaker of the House of Representatives and to be acting prime minister of Belize.[1][2]

Sylvia Flores
President of the Belize Senate
In office
14 August 2001 – 4 February 2003
Prime MinisterSaid Musa
Preceded byElizabeth Zabaneh
Succeeded byPhilip Zuniga
Speaker of the House of Representatives of Belize
In office
12 September 1998 – 1 July 2001
Prime MinisterSaid Musa
Preceded byBernard Q. Pitts
Succeeded byElizabeth Zabaneh
Personal details
Political partyPeople's United Party

Early life

The daughter of Evelyn Avila and Santos Flores, she was born in Dangriga and was raised by her stepfather Bernard Rhys. She taught Spanish in high school in Dangriga. She went on to earn a BA in economics and political science from Hunter College in New York City. She returned to Belize and, in 1983, was named a justice of the peace. In 1988, Flores became the first woman mayor of Dangriga, serving two terms.[1]

Career

Flores was the Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1998 to 2001,[3] and was President of the Senate from 2001 to 2003.[4] In 2003, Flores was elected as representative for Dangriga; she was named Minister of Defence and National Emergency Management. In 2005, she was named Minister of Human Development and Women. After retiring from politics, she returned to teaching.[5]

In 2013, she was named Woman of the Year by the United States Embassy in Belize.[5]

Personal life and death

Flores suffered from diabetes, and her health deteriorated further after a stroke. She died on 8 December 2022, at the age of 71.[6]

References
  1. "Profile of new Speaker of House". News 5. September 9, 1998.
  2. "Sylvia Flores is Acting Prime Minister". 7 News Belize. July 29, 2005.
  3. "House of Representatives Belize – National Assembly".
  4. "Senate Belize – National Assembly".
  5. "Hon. Sylvia Flores is Special Envoy's Trailblazer of the Week". The Guardian. April 30, 2013.
  6. "Sylvia Flores – former Mayor, Speaker, Minister – passes at 71". Amandala. 10 December 2022. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
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