She was a member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, which became the New Democratic Party during her term in office.
Born in Mobile, Alabama in 1899, she came to Canada and worked as a secretary.
In 1925, she married Rupert Williams Haggen.
After her husband became seriously ill, she succeeded him in the provincial assembly.Following riding redistribution for the 1966 provincial election, Haggen ran for re-election in the new Boundary-Similkameen district, but was defeated by Frank Richter, Jr.
In 1966, Haggen went to the United Nations as Canada's representative on the Human Rights Committee.