Norma Edwards

Norma Edwards OBE is a Falkland Islands politician. She served for two decades on the Falkland Islands Legislative Council^[1] and has been described as a "noted hard-liner" in opposition to Argentine control of the islands.^[2]

Edwards is a native Falkland Islander, the fourth generation born on the islands.^[3] She pursued her early schooling there before leaving for the United Kingdom, where she trained as a nurse.^[1] She lived for a time in Portsmouth, England, where her daughters Emma and Rebecca were born, before returning to the Falklands with her family after the 1982 war.^[4]

She was first elected to the Falkland Islands Legislative Council to represent Stanley in 1985, the first election after the islands' 1985 constitution came into force.^[5] She resigned from that post in 1987,^[6] and in 1989 she returned to the council as a representative of the Camp constituency, a position she held until her retirement in 2005.^[7][8]

Edwards has advocated in favor of the Falkland Islands' right to self-determination, in opposition to Argentina's claim to the islands.^[1][9] She was a fierce opponent of the 1999 Anglo-Argentine joint agreement^[8] and offered testimony to the United Nations in favor of the British side of the dispute.^[10]

Her husband, Roger Edwards, whom she married in 1970,^[1] is a current member of the Falkland Islands Legislative Assembly. The couple has lived on and run a farm on West Falkland since 1986.^[11] Her daughter Emma Edwards also served on the Legislative Assembly from 2009 until 2011. Her younger daughter, Rebecca, is the first-ever female physician from the Falklands.^[3][8]

Edwards was awarded the Order of the British Empire in the 2006 Birthday Honours for "services to the community."^[12]