Harrogate woman Dr Ruth Smith has been appointed as the new High Sheriff of North Yorkshire.
Dr Smith is a board leadership coach and is a director of Harrogate business PM Management Consultants Ltd. She has also published a book on authentic leadership.
As chair of Teesside Mind and a former trustee of the charity Refuge, she is passionate about promoting mental wellbeing and supporting survivors of domestic abuse.
She has spent most of her life in North Yorkshire, attending school in Harrogate and returning in 1992 to lead her father’s consultancy business.
High sheriffs are appointed by the King and hold an independent non-political role for a single year. There are currently 55 serving the counties of England and Wales.
Dr Smith succeeded another Harrogate woman, Birstwith artist Clare Granger, at a swearing-in ceremony this week at York Crown Court. The ceremony was presided over by the Recorder of York, Judge Sean Morris.
At the swearing-in ceremony Dr Smith took her oath of office and the outgoing High Sheriff, Ms Granger handed over her medal of office after completing her year of service.
Clare Granger (left) and Dr Ruth Smith
Outlining her priorities at the ceremony, Dr Smith pledged to highlight the role of organisations that support domestic abuse victims, particularly children as well as mental health organisations.
In her declaration speech, she said:
“The impact of domestic abuse on women and children is both devastating and tragic with at least 1 in 4 women experiencing it, 2 women a week killed by a partner or former partner and at least 1 in 5 children impacted by domestic abuse.
“It is only since 2021 that children are recognised as victims of domestic abuse and yet the consequences of domestic abuse on them can also be devastating as well as long term and life changing.
“My theme is to raise awareness of the impact of domestic abuse on children as well as identifying the support available in the moment and from our excellent charities in the county ”
The origins of the high sheriff role date back to Saxon times, when the ‘Shire Reeve’ was responsible to the king for the maintenance of law and order within the shire, or county, and for the collection and return of taxes due to the Crown.
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