Diana Francesca Caroline Clare Barran, Baroness Barran, (born 10 February 1959) is a British charity campaigner, former hedge fund manager and

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

life peer. She is the founder of the domestic abuse awareness charity

SafeLives SafeLives is a UK-based charity working in the area of domestic violence. It was founded by Diana Barran, who served as its chief executive from 2004 to 2017. Barran was succeeded as chief executive by Suzanne Jacob. The charity has worked in p ...

and served as its chief executive from 2004 to 2017.

Career

Barran worked as an investment banker in London and Paris for

Morgan Grenfell Morgan, Grenfell & Co. was a leading London-based investment bank regarded as one of the oldest and once most influential British merchant banks. It had its origins in a merchant banking business commenced by George Peabody. Junius Spencer Morgan ...

and Enskilda Asset Management and founded the

hedge fund A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that trades in relatively liquid assets and is able to make extensive use of more complex trading, portfolio-construction, and risk management techniques in an attempt to improve performance, such as sho ...

Barran and Partners in 1993. Barren left Beaumont Capital in 2001 shortly before its sale to

Schroders Schroders plc is a British multinational asset management company, founded in 1804. The company employs over 5,000 people worldwide in 32 locations around Europe, America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Headquartered in the City of London, it ...

. Barran owned 10% of Beaumont Capital at the time of her departure. Barran is a former

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...

and a former chair of the Henry Smith Charity. Barran has worked as the head of grant development for

New Philanthropy Capital New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) is a charitable organisation based in London, United Kingdom. It describes itself as "the think tank and consultancy for the social sector." NPC aims to help charities, foundations, philanthropists, impact investors, ...

and as the firms donor adviser. On 26 July 2019, Barran was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Civil Society at the

Department for Culture, Media and Sport , type = Department , logo = Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport logo.svg , logo_width = , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = Gove ...

in the

first Johnson ministry The first Johnson ministry began on 24 July 2019 when Queen Elizabeth II invited Boris Johnson to form a new administration, following the resignation of the predecessor Prime Minister Theresa May. May had resigned as Leader of the Conse ...

. The role included responsibility for the department's business in the Lords and First World War commemorations. Barran assumed the "loneliness porfolio" in 2019, taking on the role of "Minister of Loneliness" that former Prime Minister

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...

established in 2018, which had previously been held by

Tracey Crouch Tracey Elizabeth Anne Crouch (born 24 July 1975) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chatham and Aylesford since 2010. A member of the Conservative Party, she gained the seat from Labour's Jonathan Shaw ...

and

Mims Davies Miriam Jane Alice Davies (born 2 June 1975), known as Mims Davies, is a British Conservative Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Sussex since 2019. She has been serving as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State fo ...

. The position aimed to address the crisis of loneliness in British society that a 2017 commission initiated by Jo Cox had investigated. On 17 September 2021, Barran was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the School System at the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England. A Department ...

, in the second

cabinet reshuffle A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the Head of State changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in parlia ...

of the

second Johnson ministry The second Johnson ministry began on 16 December 2019, three days after Boris Johnson's audience with Queen Elizabeth II where she invited him to form a new administration following the 2019 general election, in which the Conservative Party w ...

. She was reappointed to this position by

Liz Truss Mary Elizabeth Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who briefly served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth day in office, she stepped down ...

. She was reappointed by

Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two Cabinet of ...

but the portfolio changed to Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the School System and Student Finance.

Personal life

Barran is married with four children. She was educated at

Benenden School Benenden School is an independent boarding school for girls in Kent, England, in Hemsted Park at Benenden, between Cranbrook and Tenterden. Benenden has a boarding population of over 550 girls aged 11 to 18, as well as a limited number of da ...

and

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...

Honours and awards

In the

2011 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2011 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 11 June 2011 in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: New Zealand,Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE). In May 2018, it was announced that she will be conferred a

life 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 ...

age. On 21 June, she was created Baroness Barran, ''of

Bathwick Bathwick is an electoral ward in the City of Bath, England, on the opposite bank of the River Avon to the historic city centre. Bathwick was part of the hundred of Bath Forum. The district became part of the Bath urban area with the 18th cent ...

in the

City of Bath Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

''. Barran was on the list of the BBC's 100 Women announced on 23 November 2020.

Notelist

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barran, Diana Living people Alumni of King's College, Cambridge British charity and campaign group workers British hedge fund managers English financial businesspeople British investment bankers Conservative Party (UK) life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II Domestic violence awareness Members of the Order of the British Empire 1959 births BBC 100 Women