Daurene Lewis
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Daurene Elaine Lewis, Template:Post-nominals (September 9, 1943 – January 26, 2013), was a Canadian politician and educator. She was the first Black female mayor in Canada.
Early life and education
Born in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia in 1943, Lewis was a descendant of freed Loyalist African Americans who settled in Annapolis Royal in 1783.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She was a descendant of Rose Fortune, a Virginian who became the first female police officer in North America.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Trained as a registered nurse, Lewis held a diploma in teaching in schools of nursing from Dalhousie University, a Master of Business Administration from Saint Mary's University, and in 1993 was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Mount Saint Vincent University.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Political career
Lewis first formal political involvement was in 1979, running for town council in Annapolis Royal.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref> Her issues included increasing awareness of the area's history, and attempts at community revitalization. She was appointed as deputy mayor in 1982 <ref>Lawlor, Allison (February 12, 2013). "She was Canada's first black female mayor", The Globe and Mail, p. S8.</ref> working alongside Mayor George Richardson.
In 1984, Lewis was elected mayor of Annapolis Royal, making her the first female black mayor in Canada.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Lewis attempted to enter provincial politics in the 1988 election, making an unsuccessful bid to represent Annapolis West in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly for the Liberal Party.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She was the first black woman in Nova Scotia to run in a provincial election.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref>
After politics
Lewis was the former executive director of the Centre for Women in Business at Mount Saint Vincent University. She was principal of both the Institute of Technology and Akerley Campuses of the Nova Scotia Community College.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2001 she became the first African Canadian senior administrator in the history of the college. She completed an extended terms on the board of directors of Canada Post<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Governor General's Order of Canada Advisory Council.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref> She was on the executive of the Vanier Institute of the Family<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts. She was a member of the International Women's Foundation.
She died in a Halifax hospital in 2013.<ref>"Respected trailblazer Daurene Lewis dies". The Chronicle Herald, January 27, 2013.</ref>
Honours, decorations, awards and distinctions
In 1994 Lewis was added to the Black Cultural Centre Wall of Honour. In 1995, she was recipient of the United Nations Global Citizenship Award.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1998 she received the Progress Club of Halifax Woman of Excellence award for Public Affairs and Communication.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2002, she was made a Member of the Order of Canada<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and received the YWCA volunteer award. She received both the Queen's Jubilee Medal<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2018, the Annapolis Royal town hall plaza was named after Lewis in a ceremony in which a bronze bust by sculptor Ruth Abernethy was unveiled.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>