The Cabinet Minister for Women is The Rt. Hon.
Harriet Harman QC MP and is supported by
Barbara Follett MP who is Parliamentary Under
Secretary of State.
The Rt. Hon. Harriet Harman QC MP
 The Rt Hon Harriet Harman QC MP was appointed Leader of the House
of Commons, Lord Privy Seal, Minister for Women and Labour Party
Chair on 28 June 2007.
Harriet qualified as a lawyer, worked at Brent Law Centre in London,
then became legal officer at the National Council for Civil
Liberties and was elected MP for Camberwell and Peckham following a
by-election in 1982. In 1984 she was appointed to the Labour
front-bench as spokesperson for Social Services, becoming
Spokesperson for Health in 1987 and Shadow Chief Secretary to the
Treasury in Labour's Shadow Cabinet in 1992. She was appointed as
Secretary of State for Social Security in 1997 and Minister for
Women in the same year. She was appointed
Solicitor General in June 2001. She was appointed Minister of State
at the Department for Constitutional Affairs on 9 May 2005. She was
appointed as Minister of State at the new Ministry of Justice on 9
May 2007.
Studied politics at York University, then qualified as a lawyer.
Barbara Follett MP
Barbara Follett is Parliamentary under Secretary
of State.
Barbara is MP for Stevenage and was first elected in
1997. This is her first Ministerial appointment.
Barbara was a Parliamentary Private Secretary to
Tessa Jowell as Minister for Women from 2005 to 2006 and as Secretary
of State for Culture, Media and Sport from 2006 to 2007. She was
Parliamentary Private Secretary to Ruth Kelly as Minister for Women
from 2006 to 2007.
Barbara was a member of the Commons Select Committee
for International Development from 1997 to 2001 and the Select
Committee for the Modernisation of the House of Commons from 2001 to
2005.
Barbara was born in Jamaica and lives in Knebworth
with her husband, author Ken Follett, and their two dogs.
Between them they have five children and two grandchildren.
Top
Back to About
Us homepage
See also
Ministers for
Women Priorities
|
