Ruth Blackman is British politician and civil servant, who is Member of Parliament for South Caicos, in the Turks and Caicos Islands. [1] Her political career began as Clerk of the Executive Council and Legislative Council in 1978. [2] She remained in that role until 1995, when the councils split; Blackman then continued to work for the Legislative Council until 2007. [3] In 2006 she was the first person to be appointed to the role of Cabinet Secretary. [2] [3] She retired from the Civil Service in 2009. [3]
In 2012, she was appointed to the Turks and Caicos House of Assembly, alongside Clarence Selver. [4] In the 2016 general election, she was elected as the Member of Parliament for South Caicos with 45.77% of the vote, representing the Progressive National Party. [1] In 2017 she held the post of Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth. [5]
Blackman has also presented current affaires programmes for Radio Turks and Caicos. [6] She is from Grand Turk and her father was James Alexander George Smith McCartney, first Chief Minister of the Turks and Caicos. [7]