María Gómez Carbonell

María Gómez Carbonell (June 29, 1903 – May 24, 1988) was a Cuban educator and politician. She was one of the first group of seven women elected to Congress, serving in the House of Representatives from 1936 to 1940. In 1940 she became the first woman to be elected to the Senate, and in 1942 was appointed Minister without portfolio, becoming the first woman in a Cuban cabinet. She founded Cruzada Educativa Cubana in 1962, as well as the Alliance of National Feminists.

Early life Carbonell was born June 29, 1903, in Havana. her parents were Jose Fernando Gomez Santoyo and Candelaria Carbonell Rivero. Her maternal grandfather, Néstor Leonelo Carbonell Figueroa, as well as three uncles, José Manuel, Néstor, and Miguel Angel were involved in Cuba's politics and society. She was one of the first women to earn a Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy and Letters in Cuba) from the University of Havana.

Career She was a Democratic National Association candidate for the House of Representatives in La Habana Province in the 1936 general elections, the first in which women could vote, and was one of seven women elected. In the 1940 elections she was the first woman elected to the Senate, serving until 1944. She served in the Senate again from 1955 to 1959 for Fulgencio Batista's National Progressive Coalition. During her career in Cuba's Congress, she delivered more than 160 speeches. Described as a "sought-after speaker in the Cuban exile community", she was exiled to the United States in 1959.

Death and legacy Carbonell died on May 24, 1988, in Miami, Florida. She is cited as a "community icon in both Cuba and the United States".