Christine Mary Humphreys, Baroness Humphreys, is a

Welsh Liberal Democrats The Welsh Liberal Democrats ( cy, Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru) are a branch of the United Kingdom Liberal Democrats that operates in Wales. The party is led by Jane Dodds, who served as MP for Brecon and Radnorshire from August to Decemb ...

peer and leader of the party's group in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

. Humphreys is also a former President of the

and was a

Member of the Welsh Assembly A Member of the Senedd (MS; plural: ''MSs''; cy, Aelodau o'r Senedd; , plural:) (AS)., group=la is a representative elected to the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; ). There are sixty members, with forty members chosen to represent individual Senedd ...

for the

North Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia N ...

regional constituency from 1999 to 2001. She has also been the

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

spokesperson for Wales since 2015. Before winning election to the

National Assembly for Wales 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 Go ...

in 1999 she was a teacher and Head of Vocational Education in a Welsh Medium School in her home county of Conwy.

Political career

At the inaugural Assembly Election in 1999 she won a

seat. She resigned on 22 March 2001 for health reasons and was succeeded by fellow Liberal Democrat Eleanor Burnham as Assembly Member for

. In November 2007 she was elected President of the party, defeating Bob Barton and John Last. She went on to serve two terms as party president, including one term as honorary president of the Welsh Young Liberals. In August 2013 she was appointed a

working peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

, but she has said that she favours

Lords Reform Certain governments in the United Kingdom have, for more than a century, attempted to find a way to reform the House of Lords, the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. This process was started by the Parliament Act 1911 introdu ...

. She was created a life peer on 18 September 2013 taking the title Baroness Humphreys. ''of

Llanrwst Llanrwst ('church or parish of Saint Grwst'; ) is a market town and community on the A470 road and the River Conwy, in Conwy County Borough, Wales, and the historic county of Denbighshire. It developed round the wool trade and became known als ...

in the County of Conwy'', and made a point of taking the oath in her native Welsh instead of the traditional English. Her maiden speech in the Lords focused on the significance of Welsh-language broadcasting.

References

Profile on BBC website September 1999

External links

Welsh Liberal Democrats WebsiteBBC News item of the resignation of Christine Humphreys
20th-century British women politicians Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Female members of the Senedd Living people Liberal Democrat members of the Senedd Liberal Democrats (UK) life peers Wales AMs 1999–2003 Welsh-speaking politicians Year of birth missing (living people) {{Life-peer-stub