Wikipedia:Today's featured article/March 18, 2015

Margaret Bondfield (1873–1953) was a British Labour politician, trades unionist and women's rights activist. She became the first female cabinet minister, and the first woman to be a privy counsellor, when she was appointed Minister of Labour in the Labour government of 1929–31. Bondfield was born in humble circumstances and received limited formal education. Beginning as a shopworker in Brighton and London, she was an active trades unionist and held union office from 1898. Bondfield helped to found the Women's Labour League in 1906, and was chair of the Adult Suffrage Society. She was a socialist rather than a suffragette, which divided her from some factions in the women's movement. She was first elected to parliament in 1923, and was a junior minister in the Labour government of 1924. Her term in the cabinet was overshadowed by the economic crises that beset the 1929–31 Labour ministry, and her actions in office antagonised many in the Labour Party. She left parliament in 1931, but continued in quiet public service until shortly before her death. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Audie Murphy – ...And Justice for All (album) – Peru national football team