Florence Horsbrugh 1889 - 1969
During the first War she organised travelling canteens for which she was made an MBE in 1920. She was active in the Unionist party and elected to Parliament in 1931 for one of the few remaining two-member seats in Dundee. In 1936 she was the first woman to move the Address in reply to the King's speech, and in so doing, the first politician to be televised.
During the Second War she was a parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Health and responsible for arrangements such as the evacuation of children and, according to one source, set up the National Association of Training Corps for Girls, an organisation for women too young to enter the Land Army, Women’s Services etc. In 1945 she worked on the beginnings of the National Health Service.
In 1946 she became the first Scottish woman Privy Councillor
She lost her seat in 1945 but won one for Moss Side in 1950. She became Minister of Education in 1951. This was made a cabinet post in 1953 making her the first Tory woman cabinet minister. She resigned in 1954 but retained an active interest in foreign affairs, becoming a delegate to the Council of Europe from 1955-61.
She was made a life peer in 1959.
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