# Ruth Charteris

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{{Short description|Scottish advocate (born 1973)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = 
| name             = Ruth Charteris
| honorific_suffix = [KC](/source/King's_Counsel)
| image            = File:Official Portrait of Ruth Charteris QC.png
| alt              = 
| caption          = Official portrait, 2021
| office           = [Solicitor General for Scotland](/source/Solicitor_General_for_Scotland)
| term_start       = 22 June 2021
| term_end         = 
| monarch          = {{ubl
 |[Elizabeth II](/source/Elizabeth_II)
 |[Charles III](/source/Charles_III)}}
| first_minister   = [Nicola Sturgeon](/source/Nicola_Sturgeon)<br/>[Humza Yousaf](/source/Humza_Yousaf)<br />[John Swinney](/source/John_Swinney)
| predecessor      = [Alison Di Rollo](/source/Alison_Di_Rollo)
| successor        = 
| deputy           = 
| office2          = 
| term_start2      = 
| term_end2        = 
| predecessor2     = 
| successor2       = 
| birth_date       = {{Birth year and age|1973}}
| birth_place      = [Glasgow](/source/Glasgow), Scotland
| death_date       = 
| death_place      = 
| resting_place    = 
| birth_name       = Ruth Barbara Charteris
| spouse           = 
| party            = [Independent](/source/Independent_politician)
| children         = 
| alma_mater       = [University of Glasgow](/source/University_of_Glasgow)
| occupation       = [Advocate](/source/Faculty_of_Advocates)
| profession       = [Lawyer](/source/Lawyer)
| 1blankname       = {{nowrap|[Lord Advocate](/source/Lord_Advocate)}}
| 1namedata        = [Dorothy Bain](/source/Dorothy_Bain) [KC](/source/King's_Counsel)
}}

'''Ruth Barbara Charteris''' [<small>KC</small>](/source/King's_Counsel) (born 1973) is a Scottish [advocate](/source/Faculty_of_Advocates) who has served as [Solicitor General for Scotland](/source/Solicitor_General_for_Scotland) since 2021. In addition to being the Solicitor General for Scotland, she has been a legally qualified chair of the [Scottish Social Services Council](/source/Scottish_Social_Services_Council) since 2017,<ref>[https://www.scottishlegal.com/article/panel-posts-faculty-twelve "Panel posts for Faculty twelve"], ''Scottish Legal News'', 22 December 2017.</ref> and has served as Chair of the Fitness to Practice Panel of the SSSC since 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-02-24 |title=Ruth Charteris {{!}} Arnot Manderson Advocates |url=http://amadvocates.co.uk/advocate/ruth-charteris/#full-profile |access-date=2022-05-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224023627/http://amadvocates.co.uk/advocate/ruth-charteris/#full-profile |archive-date=24 February 2020 }}</ref>

== Early life and education ==
Born in 1973 in [Glasgow](/source/Glasgow), Charteris studied at the [University of Glasgow School of Law](/source/University_of_Glasgow_School_of_Law), where she gained an [LL.B (Hons)](/source/Bachelor_of_Laws) and a [diploma](/source/diploma) in legal practice.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200803154306/http://advocates.org.uk/advocates/ruth-barbara-charteris?q=&s=&y=0&o=0&rs=2123123902 "Ruth B Charteris"], ''Faculty of Advocates'' [archived version, 3 August 2020]</ref>

==Career==
===Early legal career===
Charteris was [admitted as an advocate](/source/Faculty_of_Advocates) in 2000 and came to the Bar on completion of her post as Legal Assistant to the Lord President of the Court of Session. Charteris served as an ''[ad hoc](/source/ad_hoc)'' [Advocate Depute](/source/Advocate-Depute) from 2010 to 2016. She served as a Standing Junior to the Scottish Government from 2012 and Second Standing Junior to the Scottish Government from 2016 to 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ruth Charteris QC |url=https://www.gov.scot/about/who-runs-government/cabinet-and-ministers/ruth-charteris-qc/ |access-date=2022-07-26 |website=www.gov.scot |language=en}}</ref> After her appointment as [Queen's Counsel](/source/Queen's_Counsel), she served as a full-time Advocate Depute from 2020 until her appointment as Solicitor General.<ref>[https://www.lawscot.org.uk/news-and-events/legal-news/ten-new-queens-counsel-named/ "Ten new Queen’s Counsel named"], ''Law Society of Scotland'', 15 September 2020.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Merson |first=Adele |title=Dorothy Bain QC nominated Scotland's new Lord Advocate |url=https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/politics/scottish-politics/2312131/dorothy-bain-qc-nominated-scotlands-new-lord-advocate/ |access-date=2022-07-26 |website=The Courier |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>[http://amadvocates.co.uk/2020/new-am-silk-makes-crown-office-switch/ "New Silk Ruth Charteris QC in Crown Office Move"], ''Arnot Manderson Advocates'', 17 September 2020.</ref>

===Scottish Social Services Council===

Charteris has been a legally qualified chair of the [Scottish Social Services Council](/source/Scottish_Social_Services_Council) since 2017.<ref>[https://www.scottishlegal.com/article/panel-posts-faculty-twelve "Panel posts for Faculty twelve"], ''Scottish Legal News'', 22 December 2017.</ref> She has been Chair of the Fitness to Practice Panel of the SSSC since 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-02-24 |title=Ruth Charteris {{!}} Arnot Manderson Advocates |url=http://amadvocates.co.uk/advocate/ruth-charteris/#full-profile |access-date=2022-05-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224023627/http://amadvocates.co.uk/advocate/ruth-charteris/#full-profile |archive-date=24 February 2020 }}</ref>

== Solicitor General, 2021–present ==
[[File:Ruth Charteris and Dorothy Bain at Court of Session.jpg|thumb|right|Charteris alongside [Dorothy Bain](/source/Dorothy_Bain) KC, following their appointment as Scotland's law officers at the [Court of Session](/source/Court_of_Session), June 2021 ]]

=== Appointment ===
On 16 June 2021 the [Scottish Government](/source/Scottish_Government) announced that [Nicola Sturgeon](/source/Nicola_Sturgeon) had recommended Charteris to the [Scottish Parliament](/source/Scottish_Parliament) for appointment as [Solicitor General for Scotland](/source/Solicitor_General_for_Scotland) by [The Queen](/source/Elizabeth_II).<ref>[https://news.stv.tv/politics/women-to-hold-scotlands-top-legal-posts-for-first-time?amp "Women to hold Scotland’s top legal posts for first time"], ''STV News'', 16 June 2021.</ref> Her nomination as Solicitor General for Scotland was approved by the Scottish Parliament on 17 June 2021.<ref>[https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/19380563.sturgeon-commits-examine-splitting-lord-advocate-dual-role/ "Sturgeon commits to examine splitting lord advocate dual role"], [Glasgow Herald](/source/Glasgow_Herald), 17 June 2021</ref>

The appointment of Charteris to the post of Solicitor General for Scotland, and [Dorothy Bain](/source/Dorothy_Bain) [KC](/source/King's_Counsel) to the position of [Lord Advocate](/source/Lord_Advocate) marks the first time that Scotland's top law officers were both women.

===Duties===
Charteris was selected as the annual speaker at the Annual Reflections Lecture at the Edinburgh Foundation for Women in Law event.<ref>{{cite web |title=Solicitor General to deliver Edinburgh Foundation for Women in Law lecture |url=https://www.scottishlegal.com/articles/solicitor-general-to-deliver-edinburgh-foundation-for-women-in-law-lecture |publisher=Scottish Legal |access-date=2 January 2024}}</ref> In 2023, as Solicitor General for Scotland, she was instructed by First Minister [Humza Yousaf](/source/Humza_Yousaf) to "fully investigate" claims that the Scottish Government had not handed over [WhatsApp](/source/WhatsApp) communications and text messages which were exchanged between senior government officials during the height of the [COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland](/source/COVID-19_in_Scotland), following claims made during the United Kingdom COVID-19 inquiry. Yousaf had claimed that it was his "understanding" that all messages required had been handed over.<ref>{{cite web |title=Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf to 'fully investigate' concerns messages not handed to UK COVID Inquiry |url=https://news.sky.com/story/scotlands-first-minister-humza-yousaf-to-fully-investigate-concerns-messages-not-handed-to-uk-covid-inquiry-12993150 |website=sky.news.com |publisher=Sky News |access-date=2 January 2024}}</ref>

==See also==

* [Law Officers of the Crown](/source/Law_Officers_of_the_Crown) 
* [King's Counsel](/source/King's_Counsel), of which Charteris is a member

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Scottish Cabinet}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charteris, Ruth}}
Category:Members of the Faculty of Advocates
Category:Scottish King's Counsel
Category:Living people
Category:Alumni of the University of Glasgow
Category:1973 births
Category:Lawyers from Glasgow
Category:20th-century Scottish women lawyers
Category:20th-century Scottish women
Category:20th-century Scottish lawyers
Category:21st-century Scottish lawyers
Category:21st-century Scottish women lawyers

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ruth Charteris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Charteris) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Charteris?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.