During my visit to Iceland this summer, I met Sigurlín Margrét Sigurðardóttir, who was the first deaf person to serve in the Parliament of Iceland. She is a very fascinating individual. I enjoyed listening to her stories about her time in Parliament, and her insights on the deaf and hard-of-hearing community in Iceland. This had special resonance for me as a deaf person, because many years ago as a high school exchange student, I lived with a family in Iceland for an entire summer — one of the most memorable experiences of my childhood. I have written a profile of Sigurlín Margrét Sigurðardóttir at Abledbody.com — click through to read the article.
Correction:
– Wilma Newhoudt-Druchen was elected to the South African parliament in 1999
– Your abledbody article also gives a correction (states that a deaf Briton served in the parliament) but no name
Also, you and your blog readers might be interested in knowing:
– Helga Stevens was elected to the Flemish parliament in 2004, which is after
– Helene Jarmer was elected to the Austrian parliament in 2009
– Adam Kosa is currently a member of the EU parliament
– Gary Malkowski served in the Ontario, Canada legislature in 1995
Baron Ashley of Stoke served in the United Kingdom’s House of Lords from 1966 to 1992. He had a mild hearing loss “early in his working career,” and became profoundly deaf during his second year as Member of Parliament. Emma Nicholson, who also has a hearing loss (although not as severe as Baron Ashley’s) also served as MP in the United Kingdom from 1987 to 1997.
I am aware of Stevens, Kosa and Jarmer — they all started terms in their national or extra-national (i.e. EU) legislatures after Iceland’s Sigurðardóttir. The exception is Malkowski, who served in a provincial — not national — legislature.