Loretta Butler-Turner is a Bahamian mortician and politician. She was the

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

in the Bahamian Parliament from December 2016 to May 2017.

Early life

Loretta Butler-Turner was born in

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of the Bahamas. With a population of 274,400 as of 2016, or just over 70% of the entire population of the Bahamas, Nassau is commonly defined as a primate city, dwarfing all other towns in the country. ...

to Rose Marie (née Taylor) and Raleigh Butler, who was the son of the first Bahamian Governor-General,

Sir Milo Butler Sir Milo Boughton Butler (11 August 190622 January 1979) was a Bahamian politician who served as the second governor-general of the Bahamas from 1973 to 1979. He died in office aged 72. Early life and family Butler was born in Nassau, The Bah ...

. 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 Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

from the New England Institute of Mortuary Science.

Mortuary career

Butler became an embalmer and mortuary director in her father's business, Butlers’ Funeral Homes and Crematorium of Nassau. She has provided services for several notable deaths, particularly for singer

Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton (; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer and actress. She has been credited for helping to redefine contemporary R&B, pop and hip hop, earning her the nicknames the "Princess of R&B" and " ...

and tv personality

Daniel Wayne Smith Daniel Wayne Smith (January 22, 1986 – September 10, 2006) was the son of the American model and actress Anna Nicole Smith, Anna Nicole and Billy Smith. He occasionally appeared in his mother's E! Network reality TV show. Smith died on Se ...

(son of

Anna Nicole Smith Anna Nicole Smith (born Vickie Lynn Hogan; November 28, 1967 – February 8, 2007) was an American model, actress, and television personality. Smith started her career as a ''Playboy'' magazine centerfold in May 1992 and won the title of 1993 ...

Political career

In 2007, she was elected to parliament for the Montagu Constituency as a member of the

Free National Movement The Free National Movement (abbreviated FNM) is a political party in The Bahamas formed in the early 1970s, led by Sir Cecil Wallace Whitfield. The current leader of the party is Michael Pintard and his deputy Peter Turnquest. It dominated the ...

(FNM) party and appointed Minister of State for Social Development.

Inter-American Commission of Women

Butler served as Vice President of the

Inter-American Commission of Women The Inter-American Commission of Women ( es, Comisión Interamericana de Mujeres, pt, Comissão Interamericana de Mulheres, french: Commission interaméricaine des femmes), abbreviated CIM, is an organization that falls within the Organization of ...

from 2009 to 2011, completing the term of Jeanette Carrillo Madrigal of

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

who had resigned.

Deputy Leader

In 2012, Butler-Taylor ran for the Long Island seat and was elected. That same year, she was chosen as the Deputy Leader of the Free National Movement. Butler ran for the party leadership in 2014 but was defeated by

Hubert Minnis Hubert Alexander Minnis, ON (born 16 April 1954) is a Bahamian politician and doctor who served as Prime Minister of the Bahamas from May 2017 to 16 September 2021. Minnis is the leader of the Free National Movement, the former governing party, ...

. (

Peter Turnquest Kevin Peter Turnquest (born August 22, 1964) is a Bahamian politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance from May 15, 2017 to November 25, 2020. He is a Certified Public accountant. He was the deputy leader of the Free ...

replaced her as Deputy Leader.) Finally, in December 2016, Butler-Turner was sworn in as the first woman Opposition Leader in the Bahamas history. Four days later, Butler came under fire from her predecessor, Hubert Minnis, who vowed to have her leadership rescinded.

Ouster from Party

In April 2017, she was thrown out of the party and ran as an independent in the general election the following month. She received less than 300 votes, thus ending her parliamentary career.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler-Turner, Loretta Living people Funeral directors People from Nassau, Bahamas Free National Movement politicians 21st-century Bahamian women politicians 21st-century Bahamian politicians Members of the House of Assembly of the Bahamas Year of birth missing (living people) Politicians affected by a party expulsion process Women opposition leaders