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Dame Cheryl Elise Kendall Gillan (; 21 April 1952 – 4 April 2021) was a British politician who served as
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...
(MP) for Chesham and Amersham from 1992 until her death in 2021. A member of the Conservative Party, she served as
Secretary of State for Wales The secretary of state for Wales ( cy, ysgrifennydd gwladol Cymru), also referred to as the Welsh secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Wales Office. The incumbent is a member ...
from 2010 to 2012. Before her parliamentary career, Gillan worked as a marketing executive for several companies. She was first elected to the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
in 1992 and served as an MP for 29 years. She was a junior minister for Education and Employment from 1995 to 1997 in
John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon, formerly Hunting ...
's
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...
. After 1997, she served as a Conservative
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and as a spokesperson for Trade and Industry, foreign affairs and home affairs. She was the Shadow Welsh Secretary from 2005 to 2010. She served in
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
's
cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...
as Secretary of State for Wales after the 2010 general election until a reshuffle in September 2012. She was awarded a damehood in the
2018 New Year Honours The 2018 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...
.


Early life

Cheryl Elise Kendall Gillan was born in Llandaff, a district of
Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...
, in 1952. Her father, Major Adam Mitchell Gillan, was a former
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...
officer and a director of a steel company, while her mother, Mona Elsie Freeman, was a
Wren Wrens are a family of brown passerine birds in the predominantly New World family Troglodytidae. The family includes 88 species divided into 19 genera. Only the Eurasian wren occurs in the Old World, where, in Anglophone regions, it is commonl ...
. She was brought up in
South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
and her
family farm A family farm is generally understood to be a farm owned and/or operated by a family; it is sometimes considered to be an Estate (land), estate passed down by inheritance. Although a recurring conceptual model, conceptual and archetype, archet ...
s near Usk. She was educated at Elm Tree House and Norfolk House primary schools in Cardiff before her family left Wales when she was aged 11. Gillan attended the independent Cheltenham Ladies' College and the College of Law. She was a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.


Business career

Gillan joined the International Management Group in 1977 before becoming a director with the British Film Year in 1984. In 1986, she was appointed a senior marketing consultant at
Ernst & Young Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational corporation, multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Delo ...
before becoming a
marketing director A chief marketing officer (CMO), also called a global marketing officer or marketing director, or chief brand officer, is a corporate executive responsible for managing marketing activities in an organization. Whilst historically these titles may ...
with Kidsons Impey from 1991 to 1993. She became a Freeman of the City of London in 1991 and was a member of the
Livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...
of the Worshipful Company of Marketors.


Political career

Gillan served as chairman of the Bow Group from 1987 to 1988 and unsuccessfully contested the Greater Manchester Central seat in the
1989 European Parliament election The 1989 European Parliament election was a European election held across the 12 European Community member states A member state is a state that is a member of an international organization or of a federation or confederation. Since the Wor ...
. She was elected to the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
in the 1992 general election for the
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-eas ...
seat of Chesham and Amersham. She won the seat with a majority of 22,220 and remained the MP there until her death. She made her
maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention ...
on 25 June 1992. In her early years in Parliament, Gillan served on the select committees for Science and Technology (1992–1995) and for
Procedure Procedure may refer to: * Medical procedure * Instructions or recipes, a set of commands that show how to achieve some result, such as to prepare or make something * Procedure (business), specifying parts of a business process * Standard operat ...
(1994–1995). She was also the Secretary to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Space and a board member of the
Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) is the Parliament of the United Kingdom's in-house source of independent, balanced and accessible analysis of public policy issues related to science and technology. POST serves both Hous ...
in 1995. In 1994, she was appointed
Parliamentary Private Secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...
to the
Leader of the House of Lords The leader of the House of Lords is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Lords. The post is also the leader of the majority party in the House of Lords who acts as ...
and Lord Privy Seal,
Viscount Cranborne A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...
. In July 1995, Gillan joined the government as a
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of government minister in the UK government, immediately junior to a Minister o ...
in the Department for Education and Employment. In this role she expanded the
specialist schools programme The specialist schools programme (SSP), first launched as the Technology Colleges programme and also known as the specialist schools initiative, specialist schools policy and specialist schools scheme, was a government programme in the United ...
to include
Arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...
and
Sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...
colleges, something she considered to be one of her proudest achievements in politics. After the 1997 general election – with the Conservative Party now in Opposition – she became a spokesperson for Trade and Industry as well as for education in June 1997 (with there being so few Conservative
frontbencher In many parliaments and other similar assemblies, seating is typically arranged in banks or rows, with each political party or caucus grouped together. The spokespeople for each group will often sit at the front of their group, and are then know ...
s left that several held more than one shadow post). During this time, she opposed the abolition of the Assisted Places Scheme. From June 1998, shadow minister for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and
International Development International development or global development is a broad concept denoting the idea that societies and countries have differing levels of economic development, economic or human development (humanity), human development on an international scal ...
. From September 2001 until June 2003, she served in the
whip's office A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideolog ...
. In December 2003, she became a shadow minister for Home, Constitutional and Legal Affairs. Gillan represented the
British Islands The British Islands is a term within the law of the United Kingdom which refers collectively to the following four polities: * the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (formerly the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland) ...
and the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...
on the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) from 2000 until 2003 and was later elected treasurer of the CPA from 2003 until 2006. She was a member of the Parliamentary Association of
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
from 2003 to 2005. She was the Chair of the
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Autism The All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism (APPGA) is a group of backbench members of the British Parliament and Peers interested in autism spectrum disorders. The Chair Huw Merriman MP and Officers are elected by the Members of the Group at an ...
, and responsible for introducing the
Autism Act 2009 The Autism Act 2009 (c 15) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act makes provision about the needs of adults who have autistic spectrum disorders including autism and Asperger syndrome. Background The Act began as part of th ...
through a
Private Member's Bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in wh ...
.


Shadow Welsh Secretary (2005–2010)

Gillan was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet in December 2005 as Shadow Secretary of State for Wales. She was initially opposed to the creation of the
National Assembly for Wales The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English language, English and () in Welsh language, Welsh, is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes ...
, saying that there was not a large enough majority in favour of it in the
1997 Welsh devolution referendum The Welsh devolution referendum of 1997 was a pre-legislative referendum held in Wales on 18 September 1997 over whether there was support for the creation of a National Assembly for Wales, and therefore a degree of self-government. The refere ...
. However, after becoming Shadow Welsh Secretary, she declared that she supported the
Welsh Assembly The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gov ...
, and had maintained the possibility of the Conservatives supporting the devolution of further powers. She said in 2008, however, that the Conservative Party was divided on the issue of devolution, and criticised the state of devolution in Wales as being "complex and cumbersome".


Welsh Secretary (2010–2012)

Gillan was appointed by
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
as
Secretary of State for Wales The secretary of state for Wales ( cy, ysgrifennydd gwladol Cymru), also referred to as the Welsh secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Wales Office. The incumbent is a member ...
in the new coalition government formed from the 2010 general election. She was appointed a
Privy Councillor A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
on 13 May 2010. As Secretary of State for Wales, her aides included: *
Parliamentary Private Secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...
: Glyn Davies MP * Special adviser: Richard Hazlewood Welsh-related government policy decisions taken during Gillan's term in the Wales Office included: * the running of the 2011 Welsh devolution referendum on direct law-making powers for the Assembly; * setting up of the Silk Commission on future Welsh devolution; * rail electrification of the
South Wales Main Line The South Wales Main Line ( cy, Prif Linell De Cymru), originally known as the London, Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway or simply as the Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway, is a branch of the Great Western Main Line in Great Britain. ...
branch of the
Great Western Main Line The Great Western Main Line (GWML) is a main line railway in England that runs westwards from London Paddington to . It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. Opened in 1841, it was the ...
; * reduction of
S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking ...
funding; * cancellation of the plan to centralise military training at MOD St Athan. In May 2012, Gillan unveiled a Wales Office
green paper In the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth countries, Hong Kong, the United States and the European Union, a green paper is a tentative government report and consultation document of policy proposals for debate and discussion. A green paper represent ...
that made a proposal to cut the number of constituency Assembly members (AMs) from 40 to 30, with another 30 coming from regional lists. The
Welsh Government , image = , caption = , date_established = , country = Wales , address = , leader_title = First Minister () , appointed = First Minister approved by the Senedd, ceremonially appointed ...
opposed this idea, and it was reported that Conservative AMs preferred the status quo. Gillan ceased to be Welsh Secretary following a major Cabinet reshuffle on 4 September 2012, although she wished to continue in the role. She was replaced by David Jones who had been Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales; there had been pressure from Welsh Conservative MPs, AMs and activists for her successor to be an MP from a Welsh constituency.


High Speed 2

Gillan strongly opposed the
High Speed 2 High Speed 2 (HS2) is a planned high-speed railway line in England, the first phase of which is under construction in stages and due for completion between 2029 and 2033, depending on approval for later stages. The new line will run from its m ...
(HS2) railway project. Gillan's constituency lay on the proposed route for the rail line. In a parliamentary debate before the 2010 election, Gillan said that she agreed with neighbouring MP David Lidington who described the planned route as an "outrage". When campaigning for re-election, Gillan said that HS2 would be "a lot more than just the blight on the properties nearby... the implications for the area will be absolutely phenomenal". She also described HS2 as a project that would "threaten the quality of our lives – not just now but for generations to come" and stated that she "would defy the
party whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideolog ...
– be very, very sure of that". On 12 January 2012, Secretary of State for Transport
Justine Greening Justine Greening (born 30 April 1969) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Education from 2016 to 2018. Prior to that, she served as Economic Secretary to the Treasury from 2010 to 2011, Secretary of State for Transpor ...
confirmed in a House of Commons statement that HS2 would go ahead and in responding to questions stated that it was her understanding that "the Welsh Secretary is already on side ... I thoroughly agree with her that we have ended up with the right line, with the right mitigation". In an interview with the '' Bucks Free Press'' following the announcement, Gillan stated "we've already got some changes, good changes and I'm looking at what further possibilities there will be". When asked whether she would remain in the Cabinet, Gillan stated: "I am not resigning. The speculation on my resignation has always come from the press and my political opponents... I'm exceedingly loyal to my party and my Government and I will remain so". Three days after the announcement, it was discovered that Gillan had sold her house – which was less than a mile from the proposed route – in November 2011 because she and her husband John had "mobility problems". Following the revelations, Labour called for Gillan to be investigated for a possible breach of the Ministerial Code.


1922 Committee

In May 2019, Gillan and
Charles Walker Charles or Charlie Walker may refer to: Politics * Charles Walker (Fijian politician) (1928–2021), Fijian civil servant, politician and diplomat * Charles Walker (Georgia politician) (born 1947), American politician * Charles Walker (British po ...
became acting chairs of the
1922 Committee The 1922 Committee, formally known as the Conservative Private Members' Committee, is the parliamentary group of the Conservative Party in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The committee, consisting of all Conservative backbench memb ...
after Graham Brady resigned from the role while mulling a Conservative leadership bid. They stood down when Brady returned to the role in September of that year.


Expenses

In 2009, Gillan was criticised for her expenses claims. ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...
'' revealed she had claimed for dog food on her second home allowance. Gillan described the claim as a "mistake" and said she would be repaying it. Gillan also claimed £305.50 to cure "noise problems" with her
boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centr ...
. When questioned, Gillan said the boiler had broken down and that the claim was within the rules. It was also revealed that Gillan had attempted to claim more money for her gas bill than it was actually worth; the Commons Fees Office refused to pay the full amount. Gillan was also the subject of criticism from the ''Bucks Free Press'' in 2010, which revealed Gillan had claimed £8,450 for food and £4,335 for cleaning. It was also revealed that Gillan employed her husband, then aged 82, as an "Office Manager/Researcher". Gillan wrote to the ''Bucks Free Press'' to complain that "insinuating language" had been used. Following a review of MPs expenses by Sir Thomas Legg, Gillan was also found to have claimed £1,884 more than her mortgage bill was actually worth. The mortgage was on a second home in
Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batte ...
, even though at the time she had a home in her constituency, which lies on the
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The U ...
network. Gillan was ordered to repay the money. On 30 March 2010, it was announced that future MPs from Gillan's constituency would not be allowed to claim for a second home after the 2010 election.


Personal life

Gillan was married to John Coates "Jack" Leeming from 1985 until his death, aged 91, on 23 March 2019. Her interests included singing (she was a member of the Parliamentary Choir), gardening,
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...
and keeping chickens. Before her death, Gillan lived in
Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. ...
, Surrey. She was a member of the
Royal Automobile Club The Royal Automobile Club is a British private social and athletic club. It has two clubhouses: one in London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a ...
. During the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
, Gillan became one of many MPs who participated virtually and pushed for reforms to allow
electronic voting Electronic voting (also known as e-voting) is voting that uses electronic means to either aid or take care of casting and counting ballots. Depending on the particular implementation, e-voting may use standalone '' electronic voting machines'' ...
for members unable to sit in the chamber, especially when she became too ill to attend due to her advancing
breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...
. She died from cancer on 4 April 2021, at the age of 68. Tributes were paid to her in the House of Commons on 13 April. In the subsequent by-election held on 17 June, her former seat was gained by Sarah Green of the Liberal Democrats.


References


External links


Cheryl Gillan MP
''official constituency website''
Cheryl Gillan MP
Conservative Party profile
Chesham & Amersham Conservatives
*
''Debrett's People of Today''


Welsh Conservative Party The Welsh Conservatives ( cy, Ceidwadwyr Cymreig) is the branch of the United Kingdom Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party that operates in Wales. At United Kingdom general elections, Westminster elections, it is the second most popular ...
profile * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gillan, Cheryl 1952 births 2021 deaths 20th-century British women politicians 21st-century British women politicians Autism activists Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Deaths from cancer in England Ernst & Young people Female members of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Members of the Bow Group Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Cheltenham Ladies' College People from Llandaff Secretaries of State for Wales UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present Welsh politicians Welsh women in politics 20th-century Welsh women 20th-century Welsh people 21st-century Welsh women 21st-century Welsh people