Maria Dmitrievna Kovrigina (Russian: Мария Дмитриевна Ковригина; 6 July 1910 – 12 March 1995) was a Russian physician who served as the minister of health between 1953 and 1959 and was the first woman appointed to head a ministry at the All-Union level.[1]
Maria Kovrigina | |
|---|---|
Мария Ковригина | |
 | |
| All-Union Minister of Health | |
| In office 1 March 1954 – 12 January 1959 | |
| Premier | Nikolai Bulganin Georgy Malenkov |
| Preceded by | Andrey Tretyakov |
| Succeeded by | Sergei Kurashov |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Maria Dmitrievna Kovrigina 6 July 1910 Kamyshlovsky Uyezd, Perm Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Died | March 12, 1995 (aged 84) Moscow, Russian Federation |
| Resting place | Kuntsevo Cemetery |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Political party | Communist Party |
Early life and education
editKovrigina was born in Urals in 1910 into a Russian family.[2][3] In 1924 she joined the local Komsomol and became its secretary after three years.[2]
In 1931 Kovrigina graduated from the worker's school.[3] She obtained a degree in medicine.[2] During her studies she joined the Communist Party.[3]
Career
editFollowing her graduation Kovrigina began to work in Chelyabinsk and then was made the chief of staff of the regional department of health and education there.[2] In September 1942 she was named the deputy minister of health,[2][3] In this capacity she was responsible for the policies about the mother-child health.[3] In 1950, she was appointed the minister of health which she held until 1957.[4] When she was in office she managed to pass a law which lifted the prohibition of abortion in 1955.[5] Then Kovrigina served as the director of the department of pathology at the Moscow Central Postgraduate Medical School.[6]
Party career and views
editKovrigina was a member of the central committee of the Communist Party.[6] She was also part of the Soviet Women’s Anti-Fascist Committee which was established in 1941 to support the gender equality project in the Soviet Union.[5]
Personal life and death
editKovrigina died in Moscow in 1995.[2]
Awards
editKovrigina was awarded a medal for her activities in the siege of Leningrad during World War II.[2]
References
edit- ^ [1]
- ^ a b c d e f g Georgy Manaev (21 November 2020). "5 prolific women politicians in the USSR". Russia Beyond. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ a b c d e A. Lurie (14 January 1949). "Deputy health minister of USSR is woman physician". USSR Information Bulletin. IX (1): 151.
- ^ Christopher Burton (December 2005). "Soviet Medical Attestation and the Problem of Professionalisation under Late Stalinism, 1945-1953". Europe-Asia Studies. 57 (8): 1221. doi:10.1080/09668130500351423. S2CID 155035057.
- ^ a b Sasha Talaver (3 August 2020). "When Soviet Women Won the Right to Abortion (For the Second Time)". Jacobin. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ a b Vladimir Bychkov (15 January 2013). "My Road to Freedom". HIAS. Retrieved 18 March 2022. [permanent dead link]
External links
edit
Media related to Maria Kovrigina at Wikimedia Commons
