Doris Martyna Ansari (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Ashurst; born 18 May 1941) is a former

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

politician from

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

and Chairman of

Cornwall County Council Cornwall County Council ( kw, Konteth Konsel Kernow) was the county council of the non-metropolitan county of Cornwall in south west England. It came into its powers on 1 April 1889 and was abolished on 1 April 2009. History Cornwall County Counc ...

from 2005 to 2009. She was then opposition leader on

Cornwall Council Cornwall Council ( kw, Konsel Kernow) is the unitary authority for Cornwall in the United Kingdom, not including the Isles of Scilly, which has its own unitary council. The council, and its predecessor Cornwall County Council, has a tradition o ...

from

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

until she stood down in 2011.

Early life

As Doris Ashurst, Ansari was born in

Ince-in-Makerfield Ince-in-Makerfield or Ince is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. The population of the Ince ward at the 2011 census was 13,486, but a southern part of Ince was also listed under the Abram ward (north o ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, on 18 May 1941, the daughter of John Ashurst and his wife Maggie Birch. In 1960, she married Asadullah Ansari in

Farnworth Farnworth is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, southeast of Bolton, 4.3 miles south-west of Bury (7 km), and northwest of Manchester. Historically in Lancashire, Farnworth lies on the River Ir ...

. By 1962, they were living in

Redruth Redruth ( , kw, Resrudh) is a town and civil parishes in Cornwall, civil parish in Cornwall, England. The population of Redruth was 14,018 at the 2011 census. In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, which also inc ...

, Cornwall, where their three children were born in the 1960s."Doris Ashurst" in ''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2007'', Ince 8c 243; "Asadullah Ansari" in ''England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005'' Farnworth 10c 386, Spouse: Doris Ashurst"Cornwall International Male Choral Festival Ltd Company number 04509936 Filing history
: 18 April 2006 New director appointed, company-information.service.gov.uk, accessed 6 June 2022

British politics

Cornish politics

Ansari was first elected to Truro City Council in 1971, to Carrick District Council when it was formed in 1973, standing as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

, and to

in 1980. In 1987, while she was chair of Cornwall County Council's planning and employment committee, she was shortlisted to be the Liberal candidate at the Truro by-election after the death of incumbent Liberal MP

David Penhaligon David Charles Penhaligon (6 June 1944 – 22 December 1986) was a British politician from Cornwall who was Liberal Member of Parliament for the constituency of Truro from 1974–86. He was a popular figure in all parties and had potential to ...

; Matthew Taylor was eventually selected as the candidate and won the by-election. She was the County Council's vice-chair from 1995 to 1997 and its chair from 2005 until its abolition in 2009. Ansari also held the post of Portfolio Holder for Education for a period. She was criticised for not including Cornish issues in the education curriculum, which she said would be "dangerous" and "put Cornwall on the road to

the Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

". Ansari was awarded an OBE in the

2000 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2000 for the United Kingdom and New Zealand were announced on 31 December 1999, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2000. The ''Honours list'' is a list of people who have been awarded one of the various or ...

for services to the community in Cornwall. After the establishment of the unitary

, Ansari was elected by the Truro Tregolls division and became opposition leader and leader of the Liberal Democrats on the council from

to 2011. In April 2011, she announced she would be standing down as Liberal Democrat leader having been in local government for 40 years. She did not contest the 2013 election, being succeeded by Loic Rich. By the time of her retirement, Ansari was one of the longest serving members of the council.

Regional and national politics

Ansari was a member on several regional and national bodies throughout her career including the South West Regional Arts Council, the Milk and Dairies Tribunal, and the South West Rural Development Agency.

European politics

In 2003 and 2004, Ansari chaired the Committee on Social Cohesion of the

Congress of Local and Regional Authorities The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities is the pan-European political assembly representing local and regional authorities from the forty-six member states of the Council of Europe. Its role is to promote local and regional democracy, im ...

of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...

and was a

rapporteur A rapporteur is a person who is appointed by an organization to report on the proceedings of its meetings. The term is a French-derived word. For example, Dick Marty was appointed ''rapporteur'' by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Euro ...

for Congress reports. She was also a British representative to the

Chamber of Regions The Chamber of Regions is one of the two Chambers of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, the other being the Chamber of Local Authorities. The Chamber is the voice of regional authorities in the Council of Euro ...

at its 11th session in 2004. Ansari was made a UK delegate to the

European Committee of the Regions The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is the European Union's (EU) assembly of local and regional representatives that provides sub-national authorities (i.e. regions, counties, provinces, municipalities and cities) with a direct voice w ...

from 2008 to fill seats left vacant during the term of office which ended in 2010. She was renominated by the

Local Government Association The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national membership body for local authorities. Its core membership is made up of 339 English councils and the 22 Welsh councils through the Welsh Local Government Association. The LGA is p ...

for the 2010–2015 term, but served only until 2013. She was Vice-President of the ALDE Group on the Committee between 2012 and 2013.

Electoral history

2009 Cornwall Council election

1979 Carrick District Council election

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ansari, Doris 1941 births Congress of the Council of Europe Living people Politics of Truro Politicians from Cornwall Members of Cornwall County Council Members of Cornwall Council Officers of the Order of the British Empire English justices of the peace Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors Women councillors in England