The daughter of a trailblazing politician is set to follow in her father’s footsteps, with Ngaree Ah Kit joining the frontbench of the Northern Territory government.

Ms Ah Kit, MP for the seat of the northern suburb of Darwin in Karama, will join the territory’s cabinet after serving as Speaker of Parliament since 2020.

“It is an honor to be chosen by my peers to be the next Minister of the 14th Legislative Assembly,” Ms Ah Kit said in a statement on Friday morning.

“I look forward to my new role and will embrace the portfolios and tasks ahead of me.”

Ms Ah Kit’s father was the late John ‘Jak’ Ah Kit – a former minister in the Northern Territories Government who spent a decade in parliament.

He served as the Territory’s Indigenous Prime Minister, who during his long and colorful career was known as a fighter and defender of the Indigenous Territories.

Towards the end of his life, Mr Ah Kit was also the CEO of the Northern Land Council.

He died in 2020, aged 69.

“I am proud to recognize my father’s legacy of serving Territorians for 10 years, and I look forward to building my own,” Ms Ah Kit said today.

“I thank my constituents and look forward to representing them and all Territorians.”

Ms. Ah Kit is from the Territory and of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Chinese descent.

She replaced former NT Labor leader Delia Lawrie as MP for Karama in 2016.

The cabinet post was vacated after Natasha Fyles replaced Michael Gunner as chief minister last week.

In the statement released today, Ms Fyles promised her team remained ‘united and stable’ after Ms Ah Kit’s promotion.

The government did not show up for a press conference after the announcement.

The news ends days of speculation over who would take on the role, with interim vice-chairman and former AFL player Joel Bowden also believed to be in the running.

The rest of the Fyles government ministry will be confirmed and sworn in on Monday, the chief minister said.