Loretta Butler-Turner | |
---|---|
Leader of the Opposition | |
In office 11 December 2016 – 10 May 2017 | |
Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Prime Minister | Perry Christie |
Preceded by | Hubert Minnis |
Succeeded by | Philip Davis |
Member of the House of Assembly of the Bahamas for Long Island | |
In office 2012 –2017 | |
Member of the House of Assembly of the Bahamas for Montagu Constituency | |
In office 2007 –2012 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Nassau, Bahamas |
Political party | Free National Movement |
Loretta Butler-Turner is a Bahamian mortician and politician. She was the leader of the opposition in the Bahamian Parliament from December 2016 to May 2017.
Loretta Butler-Turner was born in Nassau, Bahamas [1] to Rose Marie (née Taylor) [2] and Raleigh Butler, who was the son of the first Bahamian Governor-General, Sir Milo Butler.
She attended primary and secondary school at St. Andrews School in Nassau and was the first Bahamian female to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in mortuary sciences, graduating summa cum laude from the New England Institute of Mortuary Science. [1]
Butler became an embalmer and mortuary director in her father's business, Butlers’ Funeral Homes and Crematorium of Nassau. [2] She has provided services for several notable deaths, particularly for singer Aaliyah [3] and TV personality Daniel Wayne Smith (son of Anna Nicole Smith). [4]
In 2007, she was elected to parliament for the Montagu Constituency as a member of the Free National Movement (FNM) party and appointed Minister of State for Social Development. [1]
Butler served as Vice President of the Inter-American Commission of Women from 2009 to 2011, completing the term of Jeanette Carrillo Madrigal of Costa Rica who had resigned. [5]
In 2012, Butler-Taylor ran for the Long Island seat [6] and was elected. That same year, she was chosen as the Deputy Leader of the Free National Movement. [7]
Butler ran for the party leadership in 2014 [8] but was defeated by Hubert Minnis. ( Peter Turnquest replaced her as Deputy Leader. [9])
Finally, in December 2016, Butler-Turner was sworn in as the first woman leader of the opposition in the Bahamas history. [10] Four days later, Butler came under fire from her predecessor, Hubert Minnis, who vowed to have her leadership rescinded. [11] [12]
In April 2017, she was thrown out of the party and ran as an independent in the general election the following month. [13] She received less than 300 votes, thus ending her parliamentary career.