Loretta Butler-Turner

Loretta Butler-Turner is a Bahamian mortician and politician for the Free National Movement (FNM). She was the first female in The Bahamas to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in mortuary sciences and became the first female embalmer and mortuary director in the country. In 2007, she was elected as a Member of Parliament, serving initially for the Montagu Constituency and in 2012 was elected for the Long Island Constituency. She also served as Vice President of the Inter-American Commission of Women from 2009 to 2011.

Biography

Loretta Butler-Turner was born in Nassau, The Bahamas[1] to Rose Marie Taylor[2] and Raleigh Butler, who was the son of the first Bahamian Governor-General, Milo Butler. She attended primary and secondary school at St. Andrews in Nassau and was the first Bahamian female to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in mortuary sciences. She graduated summa cum laude from the New England Institute of Mortuary Science.[1]

Butler-Turner was the first female mortuary director and embalmer in The Bahamas, following in her father's business, Butlers’ Funeral Homes and Crematorium of Nassau.[2] She has provided services for several notable deaths, particularly the death of Aaliyah[3] and Daniel Wayne Smith, son of Anna Nicole Smith.[4]

In 2007, she was elected to parliament from the Montagu Constituency and was appointed Minister of State for Social Development in the Ministry of Labour and Social Development.[1] When Jeanette Carrillo Madrigal of Costa Rica resigned her position as Vice President of the Inter-American Commission of Women in November, 2009, Butler-Turner completed the remainder of the term, which ended in 2011.[5] In 2012, Butler-Taylor ran for the parliamentary seat of the Long Island Constituency,[6] was elected and was appointed as Minister of the Department of Social Services.[7] That same year, she was chosen as the Deputy Leader of the Free National Movement (FNM)[8] and ran for the party leadership in 2014.[9] She was defeated by Hubert Minnis and Peter Turnquest, replaced her as Deputy Leader.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Loretta Turner-Butler". Government - Contacts. Nassau, The Bahamas: Government of the Bahamas. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  2. 1 2 Beatty, Robert (21 August 2013). "Raleigh Butler Sr., 81 of Butlers' Funeral Homes". Ft. Lauderdale, Florida: South Florida Times. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  3. ↑ "Bahamas Funeral Home Which Prepared Aaliyah's Body Says Virgin Records Hasn't Paid Bill". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. 102 (11): 40. 2 September 2002. ISSN 0021-5996.
  4. ↑ Melia, Michael (18 September 2006). "Autopsy: Smith's Son on Antidepressants". Fox News. AP. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  5. ↑ "34th Assembly of Delegates (Santiago de Chile, Chile - November 10 to 12, 2008)". OAS. Washington, DC: CIM Assembly of Delegates. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  6. ↑ "FNM Unveils Candidates for Bahamas 2012 Elections". St. Michael, Barbados: Caribbean Elections Today. 15 January 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  7. ↑ Martino, John (2013). Worldwide Government Directory with Intergovernmental Organizations 2013. CQ Press. p. 112. ISBN 978-1-4522-9937-2.
  8. ↑ Smith, Larry (12 October 2014). "The Prospects of Political Leadership in the Bahamas". Nassau, The Bahamas: Bahama Pundit. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  9. ↑ "Bahamas' deputy opposition leader eyes top post". Kingston, Jamaica: Jamaica Observer. 15 October 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  10. ↑ "Dr. Hubert Minnis defeats Butler-Turner 298 to 106". Nassau, The Bahamas: Bahamas Press. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
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