| Office1: | Member of the Legislative Council |
| Term1: | 1948–1953 |
| Constituency1: | Plaines Wilhems–Black River |
| Birth Date: | 20 September 1892 |
| Death Place: | Quatre Bornes, Mauritius |
| Party: | Independent |
| Occupation: | School teacher |
Marie Louise Emilienne Rochecouste (20 September 1892 – 28 February 1979) was a Mauritian politician. In 1948 she became the first woman elected to the Legislative Council, serving until 1953.
Born Marie Louise Emilienne Orian in 1892 into a mixed-race Franco-Mauritian family, Rochecouste worked as a primary school teacher and headmistress.[1] [2] [3] She married Raphael Rochecouste in July 1916.[1] During World War II, their son Jean died while serving in the Royal Air Force.[4]
Rochecouste stood as an independent candidate in the six-seat Plaines Wilhems–Black River constituency in the August 1948 elections.[5] At an executive committee meeting held on 11 July, the Labour Party decided to support her candidacy despite being opposed to the concept of female suffrage.[3] She finished second in the vote, becoming the first woman elected to the Legislative Council. Following the elections, Denise De Chazal was appointed as a second female member.[3] She lost her seat in the 1953 elections, finishing twentieth out of thirty candidates.[6]
Rochecouste was appointed an OBE in the 1958 Birthday Honours. In the 1970s the government school in her hometown of Quatre Bornes was named after her.[7]