Belinda Bidwell was the first female Speaker of the National Assembly

National Assembly of the Gambia

The National Assembly is the legislative branch of government in The Gambia.- Composition and electoral system:The National Assembly is unicameral and consists of 53 members who serve a five-year term. 48 members are directly elected while the remaining five are appointed by the President...

 of The Gambia

The Gambia

The Republic of The Gambia, commonly referred to as The Gambia, or Gambia , is a country in West Africa. Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, surrounded by Senegal except for a short coastline on the Atlantic Ocean in the west....

. In 2002, Bidwell, who was previously a teacher, was nominated to serve in the National Assembly, and she became deputy speaker. In April 2006, following an attempted coup d'etat

Coup d'état

A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...

 in March, Speaker Sheriff Mustapha Dibba

Sheriff Mustapha Dibba

Sheriff Mustapha Dibba was a veteran Gambian politician who served as the country's National Assembly speaker from 2002 to 2006. He was also leader of the National Convention Party .-Life:...

 was arrested and removed from his position for alleged involvement, and Bidwell became speaker. Fatoumatta Jahumpa Ceesay replaced Bidwell as speaker in February 2007, and Bidwell died of a heart attack in April.