Dehra Parker
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The Right Honourable Dame Dehra S. Parker DBE, GBE |
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Dame Dehra skiing with her grandson, James Chichester-Clark, in Switzerland (1931)
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Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Education |
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In office 1937–1944 |
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| Minister of Health and Local Government | |
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In office 1949–1957 |
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| Preceded by | William Grant |
| Succeeded by | Jack Andrews |
| Member of the Northern Ireland House of Commons |
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In office 1921–1929 |
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| Preceded by | Seat Created |
| Succeeded by | Seat Abolished |
| Constituency | Londonderry |
| Member of the Northern Ireland House of Commons |
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In office 1933–1960 |
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| Preceded by | James Lenox-Conyngham Chichester-Clark |
| Succeeded by | James Chichester-Clark |
| Constituency | South Londonderry |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
13 August 1882 Dehradun, British India |
| Died | 30 November 1963 (aged 81) Castledawson, Northern Ireland |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Ulster Unionist Party |
| Spouse(s) |
Robert Chichester (d.1921) Admiral Henry Parker |
| Children | Robert Marion |
| Religion | Anglican |
Dame Dehra S. Parker, GBE, PC (NI) (13 August 1882 – 30 November 1963) was the longest serving woman MP in the Northern Ireland House of Commons.
Dehra Kerr-Fisher was born in a military hospital in Dehra Dun, north of Delhi, India, in 1882, the only child of James and Annie Kerr-Fisher. Her father, a native of Kilrea, County Londonderry, was a successful financier. She was educated in the United States, where her father held extensive property holdings, and in Germany. The surname has been spelled, alternatively, as Ker-Fisher or Ker Fisher.
She was married on two occasions, firstly to Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Peel Dawson Spencer Chichester, MP (died 1921) with whom she had one son and one daughter, Robert James Spencer Chichester (1902-1920) and Marion Caroline Dehra Chichester (1904–1976). She was predeceased by her son. She married, secondly, Admiral Henry Wise Parker (CB, CMG) on 4 June 1928.
Dame Dehra was first elected as a Member of Parliament for Londonderry, as Dehra Chichester (which she was known as prior to her second marriage in 1928), in the Northern Ireland general election, 1921. She stood down at the 1929 election just before her second marriage but was elected unopposed as Dehra Parker in the 15 March 1933 by-election for the South Londonderry constituency following the death of her son-in-law James Lenox-Conyngham Chichester-Clark, and served until her resignation on 15 June 1960. Her grandson, James Chichester-Clark, was elected unopposed at the subsequent by-election. He later served as the fifth Prime Minister of Northern Ireland from 1969 to 1971.
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