Dame Ruth Runciman DBE (née Hellman; 9 January 1936) is a former Chair of the UK

Mental Health Act Commission The Mental Health Act Commission was an NHS special health authority that provided a safeguard for people detained in hospital under the powers of the Mental Health Act 1983 in England and Wales. Mental health care is the only part of health care ...

. She attended the Rodean School,

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

and graduated from

Witwatersrand University The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...

, also in Johannesburg, earning her baccalaureate degree. In the UK, she matriculated at

Girton College Girton College is one of the Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1 ...

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. She served for more than three decades with the

Citizens Advice Bureau Citizens AdviceCitizens Advice is the operating name of The National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux which is the umbrella charity for a wider network of local advice centres. The abbreviation CitA is sometimes used to refer to this nation ...

and made significant contributions to work on drug misuse, for which she was awarded the

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1991, which was later elevated to DBE for services to mental health. Ruth Runciman was an early trustee of the National AIDS Trust (now known as NAT), and served as its Chair from 2000 to 2006. She was a founder of the Prison Reform Trust in 1981. She was responsible for setting up a full-time Citizens' Advice Bureau in

Wormwood Scrubs Wormwood Scrubs, known locally as The Scrubs (or simply Scrubs), is an open space in Old Oak Common located in the north-eastern corner of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London. It is the largest open space in the borough, ...

, the first full-time independent advice agency in any prison. She was also a Trustee of the

Pilgrim Trust The Pilgrim Trust is a national grant-making trust in the United Kingdom. It is based in London and is a registered charity under English law. It was founded in 1930 with a two million pound grant by Edward Harkness, an American philanthropist. T ...

. The

University of Central Lancashire , mottoeng = "From the Earth to the Sun" , established = as Institution for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledgere-established 1992 (University status granted) , type = Public , chancellor ...

conferred an Honorary Fellowship on Dame Ruth Runciman at an Awards Ceremony in 2000. She was Chair of

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS Foundation Trust in England. It provides healthcare in London, Milton Keynes, Surrey and elsewhere. It was created in 2002 by a merger between Brent, Kensington & Chelsea and Westminste ...

for more than ten years, retiring at the end of 2013.

Personal life

Between 1959-62 she was married to

Denis Mack Smith Denis Mack Smith CBE FBA FRSL (3 March 1920 – 11 July 2017) was an English historian who specialized in the history of Italy from the Risorgimento onwards. He is best known for his biographies of Garibaldi, Cavour and Mussolini, and for his ...

, a noted historian of the Italian "Risorgimento". In 1963, she wed British sociologist Walter Garrison "Garry" Runciman, by which union she became the Viscountess Runciman of Doxford, a title she does not use. He died on 10 December 2020. Their son,

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, who then inherited the title, is a Professor of Politics at the University of Cambridge.

References

External links

Profile
BBC.co.uk; accessed 12 July 2014.

accessed 12 July 2014.

accessed 12 July 2014.

cnwl.org; accessed 12 July 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Runciman, Ruth 1936 births Living people People in health professions from London Fellows of Girton College, Cambridge British social welfare officials British women academics Women educators 20th-century British women 21st-century women British viscountesses Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire People involved with mental health Place of birth missing (living people) Ruth Runciman, Viscountess Runciman of Doxford