Elisabeth Kayissan Ekoué Pognon (born 1937) is Benin's first female judge, first woman member of its supreme court, and the first woman to be elected president of its stand-alone constitutional court.
Elisabeth Ekoué Pognon | |
|---|---|
| Judge | |
| Assumed office 1965 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Elisabeth Kayissan Ekou 1937 (age 86–87) |
| Alma mater | University of Poitiers University of Paris Panthéon-Assas University |
Early life edit
She was born Elisabeth Kayissan Ekoué (Pognon is her married name) in 1937.[1][2]
She was educated at secondary schools in Lomé, Togo, and Dakar, Senegal.[3]
She earned a bachelor's degree in law from the University of Poitiers in France, followed by a master's degree in law from the Panthéon-Assas University in Paris, in 1962.[1][3]
Career edit
In 1965, Pognon joined the magistrature in Benin, becoming the country's first woman judge.[1]
After serving in the ordinary courts, she became president of the court of first instance in Cotonou, and later in the court of appeals and other high courts before becoming a judge in the administrative chamber of Benin's supreme court, and the first woman member of that court.[1][3]
In 1993, she became the first woman to be appointed as a judge to the new stand-alone constitutional court in Benin, and later that year was elected president of it by her fellow members, a position which she held until 1998, when she was succeeded by Conceptia Denis Ouinsou.[3][1]
She has retired from judicial service.[3]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b c d e Gretchen Bauer; Josephine Dawuni (30 October 2015). Gender and the Judiciary in Africa: From Obscurity to Parity?. Taylor & Francis. p. 167. ISBN 978-1-317-51648-4. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ^ "Bénin Heads of State". www.guide2womenleaders.com. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Dawuni, Josephine; Kang, Alice (2015). "Her Ladyship Chief Justice: The Rise of Female Leaders in the Judiciary in Africa". Africa Today. 62 (2): 50–54. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
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