Constance Georgine, Countess Markiewicz
Irish politician, first woman elected to the Westminster House of Commons and the Dáil Éireann, and first female Cabinet member in Europe
Constance, Countess Markiewicz, born Constance Georgine Gore-Booth, 4 February 1868 – 15 July 1927), was an Irish Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil.
![](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/Constance_Markiewicz_by_John_Butler_Yeats.jpg/220px-Constance_Markiewicz_by_John_Butler_Yeats.jpg)
She was the first woman elected to the British House of Commons, but she did not take her seat. Instead she and the other Sinn Féin TDs formed the first Dáil Éireann. She is well known for founding Cumann na mBan.
She was also the first woman in Europe to be a cabinet minister, She was Minister of Labour of the Irish Republic between 1919 and 1922.