Mavis Gilmour

Mavis Gwendolyn Gilmour-Petersen, OJ, CD (born 13 April 1926) is a Jamaican medical practitioner and politician, representing the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). She served as Minister of Education from 1980 to 1986.

Medical career Gilmour-Petersen graduated from Howard University College of Medicine in 1951. She then served at a number of hospitals in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. In 1959 she embarked on her Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh. Upon completion, she was appointed Consultant Surgeon at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) and become the first woman surgeon in the Caribbean, serving the KPH from 1960 to 1976.

Political career Gilmour-Petersen entered elective politics in 1976 and won the St. Andrew West Rural constituency which she held until 1989. As a member of Edward Seaga's Cabinet, she served as minister of education from 1980 to 1986 when she was replaced by Neville Gallimore. She then served as Minister of Social Security and Consumer Affairs from 1986 to 1989. She was awarded Jamaica’s fourth-highest honour, the Order of Jamaica, in 2009.