Viola Burnham

Viola Victorine Burnham OR (née Harper; 26 November 1930 – 10 October 2003) was a Guyanese politician from People's National Congress (PNC), and wife and widow of Forbes Burnham.

Early life Burnham was born in New Amsterdam, Berbice, the youngest of eight children of schoolmaster James Nathaniel Harper and his wife Mary (née Chin). After her father died the family moved to Georgetown, where she attended Bishops’ High School on scholarship. After a brief job at The Argosy, she became a teacher, which led her to obtain a scholarship for university abroad. She earned a B.A. in Latin at University of Leicester, then her M.A. in Education at University of Chicago. She returned to Guyana teach Latin at Bishops High.

After the death of Forbes Burnham, she joined the cabinet of Desmond Hoyte as Vice President and deputy prime minister responsible for education, social development and culture in August 1985. She was elected to Parliament in 1985. She eventually stepped down from the parliament and from the cabinet in October 1991.

Honours In 1984, she received the Order of Roraima (OR).