Gillian Shephard
Gillian Patricia Shephard, Baroness Shephard of Northwold, PC, DL (née Watts; born 22 January 1940) is an English Conservative politician. She was the Member of Parliament for South West Norfolk[1] and served as a Cabinet Minister, and is now Chairman of the Association of Conservative Peers.
Baroness Shephard is currently Deputy Chair of the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission She is the chair of the Alumni Association of Oxford University and was the chair of the Council of the Institute of Education until 2015.
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Early life and career
The daughter of Reginald and Bertha Watts, she was born in Cromer, Norfolk, and spent her early years in Mundesley on Sea, her father being a haulier with a small garage at the western end of Water Lane. She was educated at North Walsham Girls' High School and St Hilda's College, Oxford,[2] from which she gained an MA in Modern Languages. She became a schoolteacher and then worked as an Education Inspector for Norfolk County Council from 1963 to 1975. From 1975 to 1977 she worked for Anglia Television. She was elected to Parliament in 1987, and became Parliamentary Private Secretary to Peter Lilley in 1988.[1] She was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Department of Social Security in 1989,[3] and then in 1990, Minister of State at HM Treasury.[4] In 1990 she was given the additional role of Deputy Chairman of the Party.[3] She married Thomas Shephard on 27 December 1975 and has two stepsons.
Ministerial career
After the 1992 general election, she was appointed Secretary of State for Employment,[1] then Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in 1993.[3] She moved to Secretary of State for Education in 1994, and stayed at the department when the Department for Employment merged into it in 1996.[3] She remained in this position until the 1997 general election.[4]
Gillian Shephard provided considerable information regarding her role as Secretary of State for Education in interviews conducted by Brian Sherratt in October 1994 and March 1996 [5]
In opposition
After the defeat of the Conservatives, William Hague made her Shadow Leader of the House of Commons and later Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.[4] She returned to the backbenches in 1999[6] and stepped down from the House of Commons at the 2005 general election.[4] Her memoirs Shephard's Watch: Illusions of Power in British Politics were published in 2000.[6]
In 2013 following the death of Margaret Thatcher, Shephard published a memoir, The Real Iron Lady, of her time working with the former prime minister.[7]
Life peerage
On 13 May 2005 it was announced that she would be created a life peer,[8] and on 21 June 2005 the peerage was created as Baroness Shephard of Northwold, of Northwold in the County of Norfolk.[9]
She is currently Chairman of the Association of Conservative Peers.[10] She is also currently Deputy Chair of the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission[11]
Arms
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Honours
- She was appointed as a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom in 1992, giving her the Honorific Title "The Right Honourable" and after Ennoblement the Post Nominal Letters "PC" for life.
- She is a Deputy Lieutenant of Norfolk, giving her the post nominal letters "DL" for life.
- On 21 June 2005 she was awarded a Life Peerage. The peerage was created as Baroness Shephard of Northwold, of Northwold in the County of Norfolk. This entitled her to a seat in the House of Lords where she sits with the Conservative Party Benches.
- In 2009 she was awarded the Legion of Honour by France.
- She holds Honorary Fellowships from St Hilda's College, Oxford, Queen Mary University of London, and Royal Veterinary College.
- In July 2018 she was awarded the Honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Law (DCL) from the University of East Anglia.[12]
References
- ^ a b c "Gillian Shephard". BBC News Online. 17 October 2002. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
- ^ "Shephard's scars". Times Higher Education. 20 September 1996. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Shephard plans to step down as MP". BBC News Online. 17 September 2004. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Full list of new life peers". BBC News Online. 13 May 2005. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
- ^ Radical Educational Policies and Conservative Secretaries of State, Ribbins, P and Sherratt, B, Cassell, 1997, pp 200-225
- ^ a b "Hague was wrong to rubbish old guard, says Major loyalist". The Independent. 25 July 2000. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
- ^ Gillian Shephard (18 March 2013). The Real Iron Lady: Working with Margaret Thatcher. Biteback Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84954-562-4.
- ^ "New peers make Labour giant in Lords". Manchester Evening News. 13 May 2005. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
- ^ "No. 57684". The London Gazette. 24 June 2005. p. 8245.
- ^ "All courtesy titles could go in reform of honours". The Times. 29 December 2007. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
- ^ "New appointments to the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk.
- ^ http://www.itv.com/news/anglia/update/2018-07-16/honorary-degrees-to-be-given-to-three-former-cabinet-ministers/
Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Paul Hawkins |
Member of Parliament for South West Norfolk 1987–2005 |
Succeeded by Christopher Fraser |
Political offices | ||
Preceded by Michael Howard |
Secretary of State for Employment 1992–1993 |
Succeeded by David Hunt |
Preceded by John Gummer |
Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 1993–1994 |
Succeeded by William Waldegrave |
Preceded by John Patten |
Secretary of State for Education 1994–1995 |
Succeeded by Herself as Secretary of State for Education and Employment |
Preceded by Herself as Secretary of State for Education |
Secretary of State for Education and Employment 1995–1997 |
Succeeded by David Blunkett |
Succeeded by Michael Portillo as Secretary of State for Employment | ||
Preceded by David Blunkett |
Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Employment 1997 |
Succeeded by Stephen Dorrell |
Preceded by Alastair Goodlad |
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons 1997–1998 |
Succeeded by George Young |
Preceded by Michael Heseltine |
Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1997–1998 | |
Preceded by Norman Fowler |
Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions 1998–1999 |
Succeeded by John Redwood |
- 1940 births
- Alumni of St Hilda's College, Oxford
- Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
- British memoirists
- British Secretaries of State
- British Secretaries of State for Education
- British Secretaries of State for Employment
- Conservative Party (UK) life peers
- Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
- Deputy Lieutenants of Norfolk
- Female life peers
- Female members of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom
- Legion of Honour recipients
- Living people
- Agriculture ministers of the United Kingdom
- Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
- People from Cromer
- UK MPs 1987–1992
- UK MPs 1992–1997
- UK MPs 1997–2001
- UK MPs 2001–2005
- People from King's Lynn and West Norfolk (district)
- 20th-century British women politicians
- 21st-century British women politicians
- Women memoirists