Elizabeth Furse (born October 13, 1936) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1993 to 1999, representing the 1st District of Oregon. She was a Democrat.

Elizabeth Furse was born in Nairobi, Kenya to British parents, and grew up in South Africa. She was the first person born in Africa to win election to the U.S. Congress. Inspired by her mother, she became an anti-apartheid activist in 1951 joining the first Black Sash demonstration in Cape Town, South Africa.

She moved to England in 1956, before eventually moving to the United States, settling in Los Angeles, California. While in Los Angeles, she became involved in a women's self-help project in Watts, and with Cesar Chavez's United Farm Workers movement, working to unionize grape farm workers. Moving to Seattle, Washington in 1968, she became involved in American Indian/Native American rights causes including fishing and treaty rights. She became a United States citizen in 1972. Two years later, she graduated from Evergreen State College. In 1978, she finally settled in the Portland, Oregon area, where she attended, but did not graduate from Northwestern School of Law.

After dropping out of law school, she led the efforts of several Oregon-based American Indian/Native American tribes to win federal recognition, successfully lobbying the U.S. Congress to grant federal recognition to the Coquille, Klamath, and Ronde tribes. In 1986, she co-founded the Portland-based Oregon Peace Institute, establishing a mission to develop and disseminate conflict resolution curriculum in Oregon schools.

She was elected to Congress in 1992, defeating State Treasurer Tony Meeker. In 1994, she won reelection by 301 votes, defeating businessman Bill Witt. Two years later, she won 52% of the vote in a rematch with Witt. She declined to seek reelection in 1998.

Since retiring from Congress in 1999, she has served as Director of the Institute for Tribal Government at Portland State University. In addition, she co-owns Washington County, Oregon-based Helvetia Vineyards with her husband, John C. Platt. The couple has two children, Amanda and John.

External links

• Biographical Directory of Congress Entry
• Portland State University Institute for Tribal Government Biography
• "Rep. Furse won't seek reelection (Northwest Labor Press)

1936 births | Living people | People from Portland, Oregon | Latino civil rights activists | Foreign-born American politicians | Members of the United States House of Representatives from Oregon | Native Americans' rights activists | Naturalized citizens of the United States | Pro-choice politicians