the first woman to hold office with the International Bar Association.

Mrs. Kempe was elected Secretary General at the IBA Conference in Melbourne, Australia.

It means in four years the ex-Bermuda Bar Association president could become the first woman to lead the IBA.

A board member of the Bermuda International Business Association (BIBA), Mrs.

Kempe hailed her new post as "a significant achievement for women''.

It was also a coup for Bermuda -- fast becoming one of the world's premier international business centres, she added.

Yesterday the IBA and BIBA welcomed her election as a big step forward for the international legal community.

BIBA marketing manager Mrs. Wendy Davis Johnson said: "This is very good news for Bermuda.'' She pointed out BIBA has mounted a marketing drive to boost Bermuda's image.

"It is a tremendous accolade to have a Bermudian in such a prestigious position.'' Mrs. Kempe, the managing partner of Appleby, Spurling & Kempe, has risen rapidly through the IBA ranks.

She joined the association as a General Member and Council Member to the IBA's General Professional Programme Committee of which she is now vice-chairman.

Mrs. Kempe, 46, of Harbour Road, Warwick, was called to the Bar of England and Wales on November 24, 1970.

She was enrolled a barrister and attorney in Bermuda on February 22, 1973, and appointed Queen's Counsel on April 10, 1992.

She was the first woman to be appointed to QC in Bermuda.