Ruby Thoma
Minister of Finance of Nauru | |
---|---|
In office November 1996 – December 1996 | |
President | Kennan Adeang |
Preceded by | Kinza Clodumar |
Succeeded by | Lagumot Harris |
Personal details | |
Born | 1949 (age 74–75) |
Nationality | Nauruan |
Christchurch School of Medicine | |
Profession | midwife |
Ruby Thoma (born Ruby Dediya in 1949 in Nauru[1]) is a Nauruan politician.
After completing secondary school in Australia, she was trained as a nurse at
Entering politics, she stood as a candidate for the 1983 general election, in the Anetan/Ewa constituency. She was supported by a group of women who helped her in her electoral campaign, arguing that voters would benefit from having an educated woman, able to defend the interests of women and children, in Parliament ; since the country's independence in 1968, all members of Parliament had been men. She encountered resistance, including from female voters who told her that politics should rightly be left to men. She was unsuccessful.[1]
Election to Parliament
Standing as a candidate again in the 1986 general election, she was elected, becoming the first woman MP in the country's history.[1] There were no political parties in Nauru; all members of Parliament sat as independents, constituting informal coalitions.[2]
Minister for Finance and later Parliamentary activity
She joined President
Historic significance of role
Throughout her career, she was the only woman MP. No other woman was elected to Parliament until Charmaine Scotty became MP for Yaren in the 2013 general election.[6][7]
In the late 2000s, she was appointed to preside the commission tasked with overseeing constitutional reform proposals. The projected reforms were ultimately not implemented, as they were rejected by referendum in February 2010.[8]
References
- ^ South Pacific Forum
- ^ Nauru : 1986 and 1987 elections, Inter-Parliamentary Union
- ISBN 982-02-0115-2, p.170
- ^ "Assignment of Responsibility for the Business of Government : December 1996" (PDF). Ronlaw.gov.nr. Nauru Government Gazette. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
- ^ "Nauru: past national women in politics", Pacific Women in Politics
- ^ "Nauru gets second woman MP, first in nearly 30 years", Radio New Zealand International, 9 June 2013
- ^ "Second woman ever elected to Nauru parliament", Radio Australia, 9 June 2013
- ^ "Summary of the Report of Select Committee on Constitutional Amendment Bills", government of Nauru, 10 March 2009