Margaret Skur: Difference between revisions
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|native_name = 睢墀, ''skjur-drje'' | |native_name = 睢墀, ''skjur-drje'' | ||
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Revision as of 19:28, 9 May 2020
Dr. Margaret Skur PhD MDA | |
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.jpg) Skur in 2005 | |
| Native name | 睢墀, skjur-drje |
| Other name(s) | 旨君, kji′-kljur |
| Born | January 3, 1959 Lord K′ro Hospital, Kien-k'ang |
| Allegiance | Themiclesia |
| Service/ | Themiclesian Marines |
| Years of service | 1987 – |
| Rank | Colonel-general |
| Spouse(s) | La Kem (余甘) |
| Children | 2 |
Dr. Margaret Skur PhD MDA (Shinasthana: 睢墀, skjur-drje; Jan. 3, 1959 – ) is a Themiclesian military officer. As of Jan. 2020, she is Captain-general of Marines and the first woman in Themiclesian history to hold this position.
Skur was born on Jan. 3, 1959, in Kja-lan, Themiclesia. She graduated secondary school and studied at the Kien-k'ang City University and graduated with a degree in computer engineering in 1983. She continued to study computer technology and obtained her doctorate in 1987. The same year, she obtained a captain's commission with the Themiclesian Marines, working on communications and visualization infrastructure. She was promoted to major in 1992, lieutenant-colonel in 1995, and colonel in 1998. She led the Department of Signals from 1998 to 2007 and then the Department of Finance from 2007 to 2012. She was made the Master of the Exchequer in 2012, which only had light duties but was widely seen as a stepping stone to the captaincy-general. However, a blunder then happened under her, which saw her being passed over for Colonel Geoffrey Ghwjang, who was Secretary for International Strategy. While she had planned for her retirement in 2019, Ghwjang's dismissal defaulted the captaincy-general to her, and she was duly appointed at the Bar of the House of Commons on Jan. 29, 2020.
Her predecessor, Geoffrey Ghwjang, said that he did not know her in his apology on The Capital Correspondent; however, it seems Skur believed this was a statement made under pressure, to stress that he had no role in influencing her appointment.
Personal life
Skur is married to La Kem (b. 1959, m. 1986), who is a senior editor at the Times of Kien-k'ang; with him she has two children, a boy (b. 1989) and a girl (b. 1993).
Dispute in the ATW
In 1999, Skur was chosen by the Association of Themiclesian Women one of 100 female military officers to recount their experiences about gendered issues in the armed forces. A symposium was then held for them in early 2000, after their statements were collected and published; Skur was involved in an argument with the then-president of the ATW, Ms. Mrangh Kaw. On stage, Ms. Kaw commented that Skur's response to the prompts was not as detailed as she would have preferred, since Skur the highest-ranking officer (then a lieutenant-colonel) in the Marine Corps selected. Skur took exception to this comment, saying that her specialization was in computer science, not in feminist scholarship, so her responses are "impoverished". Kaw then asked if her high rank did not give her any insight into gendered relationships in her branch; to this Skur responded that her rank "is neither here nor there", which solicited some hostility from the other officers in the symposium. Shortly after this, Skur interrupted Kaw and accused her of "defending an absurd power structure that all lieutenant-colonels speak with equal authority on every subject." Kaw denied that she meant this, but Skur refused to speak to her for the rest of the event.
Honours
- Outstanding Service Medal in 1990, which was instituted in 1841 and was awarded to every Marines officer upon completion of three years under commission.
- Winter Solstice Honours in 1997 for supervision a major digital infrastructure upgrade that completed before schedule; this was awarded to one officer every year.
- Middle Order of Authors (postnominal MDA) in 2002 for best speaker at the inter-service forum for digital infrastructure, voted by conference attendees.