Mariya Kovrigina

Maria Dmitrievna Kovrigina (Russian: Мария Дмитриевна Ковригина; 6 July 1910 – 12 March 1995) was a Russian physician who served as the minister of health between 1953 and 1959 and was the first woman appointed to head a ministry at the All-Union level.

Early life and education Kovrigina was born in Urals in 1910 into a Russian family. In this capacity she was responsible for the policies about the mother-child health. When she was in office she managed to pass a law which lifted the prohibition of abortion in 1955. She was also part of the Soviet Women’s Anti-Fascist Committee which was established in 1941 to support the gender equality project in the Soviet Union.

Personal life and death Kovrigina died in Moscow in 1995.

Awards Kovrigina was awarded a medal for her activities in the siege of Leningrad during World War II.