Ruby Thoma | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Nauruan Parliament for Anetan / Ewa | |
| In office 6 December 1986 – 14 November 1992 | |
| Preceded by | Lawrence Stephen |
| Succeeded by | Lawrence Stephen |
| In office 18 November 1995 – 8 February 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Lawrence Stephen |
| Succeeded by | Vassal Gadoengin |
| Minister of Finance of Nauru | |
| In office November 1996 – December 1996 | |
| President | Kennan Adeang |
| Preceded by | Kinza Clodumar |
| Succeeded by | Lagumot Harris |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1949 (age 74–75) |
| Nationality | Nauruan |
| Alma mater | Christchurch School of Medicine |
| Profession | midwife |
Ruby Thoma (born Ruby Dediya in 1949 in Nauru[1]) is a Nauruan politician.
After completing secondary school in Australia, she was trained as a nurse at Epworth Hospital in Melbourne. She graduated from the University of Otago Christchurch School of Medicine and became a midwife in Nauru.[1]
Entering politics, she stood as a candidate for the 1983 general election, in the Anetan/Ewa constituency. She was supported by a group of women who helped her in her electoral campaign, arguing that voters would benefit from having an educated woman, able to defend the interests of women and children, in Parliament ; since the country's independence in 1968, all members of Parliament had been men. She encountered resistance, including from female voters who told her that politics should rightly be left to men. She was unsuccessful.[1]