The Right Honourable The Baroness Williams of Crosby CH PC |
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Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords | |
In office 7 June 2001 – 24 November 2004 |
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Leader | Charles Kennedy |
Preceded by | The Lord Rodgers of Quarry Bank |
Succeeded by | The Lord McNally |
President of the Social Democratic Party | |
In office 7 July 1982 – 29 August 1987 |
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Leader |
Roy Jenkins David Owen |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | John Cartwright |
Secretary of State for Education and Science | |
In office 10 September 1976 – 4 May 1979 |
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Prime Minister | Jim Callaghan |
Preceded by | Fred Mulley |
Succeeded by | Mark Carlisle |
Paymaster General | |
In office 10 September 1976 – 4 May 1979 |
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Prime Minister | Jim Callaghan |
Preceded by | Edmund Dell |
Succeeded by | Angus Maude |
In office 5 March 1974 – 10 September 1976 |
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Prime Minister |
Harold Wilson Jim Callaghan |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Roy Hattersley |
Shadow Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection | |
In office 4 May 1973 – 5 March 1974 |
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Leader | Harold Wilson |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Sally Oppenheim-Barnes |
Shadow Home Secretary | |
In office 19 October 1971 – 4 May 1973 |
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Leader | Harold Wilson |
Preceded by | Jim Callaghan |
Succeeded by | Roy Jenkins |
Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Services | |
In office 19 June 1970 – 19 October 1971 |
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Leader | Harold Wilson |
Preceded by | Dick Crossman |
Succeeded by | Barbara Castle |
Minister of State for Home Affairs | |
In office 13 October 1969 – 23 June 1970 |
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Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
Preceded by | Victor Collins |
Succeeded by | Richard Sharples |
Minister of State for Education and Science | |
In office 29 August 1967 – 13 October 1969 |
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Prime Minister | Harold Wilson |
Preceded by | Goronwy Roberts |
Succeeded by | Alice Bacon |
Member of Parliament for Crosby |
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In office 26 November 1981 – 9 June 1983 |
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Preceded by | Graham Page |
Succeeded by | Malcolm Thornton |
Member of Parliament for Hertford and Stevenage |
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In office 28 February 1974 – 3 May 1979 |
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Preceded by | Constituency established |
Succeeded by | Bowen Wells |
Member of Parliament for Hitchin |
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In office 15 October 1964 – 28 February 1974 |
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Preceded by | Martin Maddan |
Succeeded by | Ian Stewart |
Personal details | |
Born |
Shirley Vivian Teresa Brittain Catlin 27 July 1930 London, England, UK |
Political party |
Labour (Before 1981) Social Democrats (1981–1988) Liberal Democrats (1988–present) |
Spouse(s) |
Bernard Williams (1955–1974) Richard Neustadt (1987–2003) |
Alma mater |
Somerville College, Oxford Columbia University |
Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Shirley Vivian Teresa Brittain Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby, CH PC (née Catlin; born 27 July 1930) is a British politician and academic who represents the Liberal Democrats. Originally a Labour Member of Parliament (MP) and Cabinet Minister, she was one of the "Gang of Four" rebels who founded the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1981.
Between 2001 and 2004, she served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords and, from 2007 to 2010, as Adviser on Nuclear Proliferation to Prime Minister Gordon Brown. She served as an active member of the House of Lords, until announcing her retirement in January 2016, and is currently Professor Emerita of Electoral Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, among numerous other activities.
Born in Chelsea, London, Williams was the daughter of political scientist and philosopher Sir George Catlin and the feminist and pacifist writer Vera Brittain. She was educated at various schools, including Mrs Spencer's School in Brechin Place, South Kensington; Christchurch Elementary School in Chelsea; Talbot Heath School in Bournemouth; and St Paul's Girls' School in London. During the Second World War, she was evacuated to Minnesota in the United States for three years.