Jessie Street
Jessie Street | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jessie Mary Grey Lillingston 18 April 1889 |
| Died | 2 July 1970 (aged 81) Sydney, Australia |
| Monuments | Jessie Street Gardens, Jessie Street National Women's Library |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Alma mater | University of Sydney (BA, 1911) |
| Spouse | Sir Kenneth Whistler Street |
| Children | Sir Laurence Whistler Street |
| Relatives | Edward Ogilvie (grandfather) Sir Philip Whistler Street (father-in-law) |
| Family | Street |
Jessie Mary Grey Street (née Lillingston; 18 April 1889 – 2 July 1970) was an Australian diplomat, suffragette and campaigner for Indigenous Australian rights. She was referred to as "Red Jessie" by the Australian media, due to her support for the Soviet Union throughout World War II and the Cold War. She organised the 'Sheepskins for Russia' campaign during World War II, and she was notably one of two Australians to attend Stalin's funeral.
As Australia's only female delegate to the founding of the United Nations in 1945, Jessie was Australia's first female delegate to the United Nations, where she ensured the inclusion of sex as a non-discrimination clause in the United Nations Charter. She was Lady Street from 1956, with the elevation of her husband Sir Kenneth Whistler Street.