Doris Sands Johnson

Dame Doris Sands Johnson DBE
Johnson in 1960
Bahamian Senator
In office 1967 – 21 June 1983
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Lynden Pindling
President of the Senate of the Bahamas
In office 1973–1979
Minister of Transport
In office 1968–1973
Personal details
Born	Doris Louise Sands (1921-06-19)19 June 1921 St. Agnes, New Providence, Bahamas
Died	21 June 1983(1983-06-21) (aged 62)
Political party	PLP
Spouse	Ratal Allen Johnson ​ (m. 1943)​
Alma mater	Virginia Union University McGill University University of Toronto New York University
Occupation	Teacher, suffragist, author
Known for	First woman appointed to, and to serve as president of, the Bahamian Senate

Dame Doris Sands Johnson DBE (19 June 1921 – 21 June 1983) was a Bahamian teacher, suffragette, and politician. She was the first Bahamian woman to contest an election in the Bahamas, the first female Senate appointee, and the first woman granted a leadership role in the Senate. Once in the legislature, she was the first woman to be made a government minister and then was elected as the first woman President of the Senate. She was the first woman to serve as Acting Governor General of the Bahamas, and was honored as Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.

Born on New Providence Island, she completed her secondary education and became a teacher. After teaching for 17 years, Johnson returned to school to earn a master's and doctorate degree in educational administration. During this period, she traveled back and forth between school and her Bahamian home organizing labor and suffrage efforts. Upon graduation, Johnson was unable to find work because of her activism. She made a compelling speech to the Bahamian legislature in 1959, pleading for women's suffrage and subsequently made a similar plea to the Colonial Office in London. Once the right to vote had been secured, Johnson immediately entered politics in 1961, running in the first election in which women were allowed to participate. Though she lost her bid, she worked with the Progressive Liberal Party to gain Bahamian independence. When the country gained its freedom from colonial rule, Johnson was appointed to the Senate and served the government until her death, a decade later.